MALAYSIA’S economy is in a good position so the government should focus on growth and not austerity, said AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes.

He said the government must focus on increasing its efficiency and productivity to create jobs and be a driving force in Asean.

“Focus on those industries that can bring income quick, and technology and ideas that can bring big growth (for the country),” he said on Twitter.

Fernandes said economic growth would enable the government to better handle its debt.

He said he also believed the ringgit would strengthen to about RM3.80 against the US dollar soon.

Bank Negara Malaysia had revealed that the federal government’s debt totalled RM686.8 billion as at end-2017, equivalent to 50.8% of the gross domestic product.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had said the federal government debt and liabilities amounted to RM1.08 trillion as at December 31, 2017.

This included the RM686.8 billion in federal government debt and RM199.1 billion of government guarantees to pay on behalf of entities unable to service their debts, he said.

He said the government was also committed to RM201.4 billion in lease payments for rental, maintenance and other charges for public-private partnership projects, such as the construction of schools, hostels, roads, police stations and hospitals.

In the Dewan Rakyat today, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government was considering securing a loan facility from Japan to reduce the “high cost of money” as the interest rate on debt taken by the previous administration was too high at 6%.

He said the value of the Japanese yen was cheaper than the ringgit, with one yen equalling 1 US cent, while RM1 was worth 25 US cents, and repaying Malaysia’s debt in Japanese yen meant the country would not be burdened with a high interest rate. – Bernama, July 23, 2018.