National Debt At RM1.39 Trillion, Govt Spending Doubled For Development Expenditure

Tags: budget, Budget 2023, dewan rakyat, Government, Government Spending, National Debt

The Auditor’s General Report was recently published and has revealed that the national debt now stands at RM.139 trillion.

A 7.2 per cent increase compared to what was recorded back in 2021, Auditor-General Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radhi said that the debt increased by RM94.1 billion last year.

“The federal liability ratio to gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022 was 78.1 per cent, which has decreased as compared to 84.3 per cent in 2021,” she stated in the report that was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

RM71.5 billion development expenditure

In addition to that, the report also showed that the federal government spending has totalled RM71.5 billion for development expenditure in 2022.

This was a 104.5 per cent increase as compared to the approved allocation in Budget 2023, said Datuk Wan Suraya.

“Included in the development expenditures of RM71.574 billion was expenditures charged within account payables period amounted to RM6.068 billion,” she said.

Datuk Wan Suraya explained at Dewan Rakyat that the expenditure involved the Finance Ministry that distributed it to three companies, DanaInfra Nasional Berhad, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad and Urusharta Jamaah Sdn. Bhd, for development allocations.

The report also said that RM17.086 billion was spent for commitment on guarantees, which is an increase of RM7.439 billion 77.1 per cent compared to RM9.647 billion in 2021.