Najib warns of RM1 trillion debt if Pakatan takes over

Updated 6 years ago · Published on 13 Mar 2018 11:10AM · 8 Comments

Prime Minister Najib Razak says today’s younger generation will have to pay for the opposition’s promises if the GST, PTPTN loans, tolls and excise duties are abolished. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Farhan Nazmi, March 13, 2018.

MALAYSIA would be RM1.1 trillion in debt if Pakatan Harapan took over the federal government, Prime Minister Najib Razak told university students today.

He said the opposition pact’s election manifesto, which promised to abolish the goods and services tax (GST) and existing tolls, would plunge the nation into a further RM416 billion debt on top of the existing RM685 billion debt. 

“If that is all taken into account, the national debt will increase and inflate to RM416 billion, with the existing debt, it becomes RM1 trillion. The opposition wants to claim that we are increasing the national debt, but their manifesto is even more drastic.

“This will be the debts that we have inherited and you guys are the ones who are going to be paying back after this,” Najib said at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) which was broadcast on Facebook.

The prime minister is on a one-day working trip to the northern state where he will launch an Urban Transformation Centre (UTC).

Najib was commenting on a statement by Ministry of Finance secretary-general, Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah, who said Malaysia would lose RM416.6 billion in revenue if the GST, National Higher Education Fund Corp (PTPTN) loans, tolls and excise duties were abolished. 

Barisan Nasional leaders have been criticising the PH election manifesto since its launch last week.

Najib, who is also the finance minister, said the opposition would not be able to conduct national development programmes with reduced government revenue.

“You will inherit the debts. This is why we cannot lie to the people. We (the government) will straight way tell that if we can do it, we will do it. But if we cannot, we say we cannot.”

Without naming former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who now heads the opposition, Najib blamed him for creating the many tolled highways of which PH now wanted to get rid.

“I am not in favour of tolls, but there is an old man who built them. Under Budget 2018, I abolished four tolls. But, we cannot do it all at once. We cannot afford it,” Najib said. 

The PH manifesto outlines 10 promises that the opposition bloc wants to achieve in the first 100 days of taking over Putrajaya. 

Among the promises are reduction in tolls and delay repayment on PTPTN loans until graduates start earning monthly salaries of RM4,000. – March 13, 2018.  

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Comments

  • No worries mr penyamun,once pakatan took over you'll ended up in sri sg buluh and all ur belongings will be returned back to msians

    Posted 6 years ago by Leslie Chan · Reply

  • Look at MRT ridership number. With ECRL, HSR, and other giveaways in Sarawak and Sabah and more to come, and for sure in Kelantan and Terengganu to stay in power.. WE ARE ALREADY ON OUR WAY TO 1 TRILLION DEBT.

    Posted 6 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • Warning us or THREATENING us with debt?

    Posted 6 years ago by Mr. Wafferthin · Reply

  • Something that is not yet earned cannot be regarded as a loss. Adding this amount to the existing debt? That's the most ridiculous finacial mathematics I as a businessman have ever heard.

    Posted 6 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • What a magician on economics . !!!! You cleverly hide all the debts in the guise of infrastructure developement and take the initial capital proceeds to reslove your personal debts in the 1MDB and now you are talking about a trillion debts which is blatantly there. Why ?? you just got shook up is it. Mama Rosie you better calm your man. Bad for the heart. Quinoa will be wasted!!!!!

    Posted 6 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • sorry mo1, the rakyat know the full story - just stop your nonsense - save your nonsense to the stupids in umno, kampungs and feldas

    Posted 6 years ago by Nathanji Devan · Reply

  • We have full confidence with Najib. Who else but the Allah sent Najib can convince wealth Arab to donate RM2.6 billion to his personal bank account at AMBank. Who knows - Najib may be able to convince Trump to donate USD$5 billion to Malaysia. Najib Bolih, UMNO Bolih, Rasuah Bolih.

    Posted 6 years ago by Chris Ng · Reply

  • The only solution is to vote najib and BN out of putrajaya . Let PH go in and dig out all the 1MDB secrets . May find more problems then you think of. Catch Jho low to get back all the laundried money

    Posted 6 years ago by Francis Wong · Reply