Archive for category Financial Scandals
Shahrizat seorang sahajakah yang berhenti? Seorang lagi tu macam mana?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Muhyiddin Yassin, UMNO on Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Oleh Aspan Alias | March 13, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
13 MAC — Shahrizat Jalil mengambil keputusan untuk meletakkan jawatan hanya pada 8hb April nanti apabila penggal keahliannya di Dewan Senat tamat tempohnya. Perletakkan jawatan ini sepatutnya sudah diambilnya sebaik sahaja terbongkar salahlaku keluarganya menyalahgunakan wang pinjaman dari kerajaan untuk mengendalikan perniagaan NFC itu. Tetapi setidak-tidaknya beliau mengambil juga tindakan untuk melepaskan jawatan kabinet yang dipegangnya melalui pintu belakang itu.
Walaupun beliau pada mulanya berusaha untuk mengekalkan jawatan itu, tetapi etika politiknya yang nyata sangat menjengkelkan itu tidak berdaya beliau untuk mempertahankan jawatan yang amat beliau sayangi itu. Sesungguhnya itu sahaja jalan yang tinggal untuknya lakukan kerana kesalahan etikanya sangat menjelikkan kerana suaminya itu mendapat pinjaman semudah itu kerana kedudukan Shahrizat didalam kabinet negara.
Seperti yang saya nyatakan dahulu, jika Shahrizat itu hanya seorang bidan kampung, Salleh tidak mungkin mendapat pinjaman dengan menggunakan wang rakyat dengan semudah itu. Semua keistimewaan-keistimewaan yang didapati oleh ahli keluarga pemimpin ini telah banyak memerah wang dan harta rakyat. Tetapi Shahrizat ini malang sedikit kerana beliau tidak mempunyai kuasa dan pengaruh sepenuhnya.
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Shahrizat is no sacrificial lamb
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 12 March 2012
By Jacob Sinnathamby | March 12, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
MARCH 12 — I find it shocking that even till the last, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak wanted the last stab to insult Malaysians.
At least we deserve some modicum of respect from the prime minister. Throughout the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), he and his government have insulted us with their indifference to the glaring fact that the BN government granted RM250 million to a family who were ill-equipped to run this feedlot business. Instead, they used the funds to buy properties and live comfortable lives.
Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s culpability starts and ends with several facts and assumptions including that her expenses were paid by the NFC and that it is likely that her connections allowed her family to get the contract.
It is impossible to believe that the decision makers ,who included Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Najib, gave the contract and the soft loan to greenhorns with no consideration to the fact that Shahrizat leads Wanita Umno.
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Chief Justice Ariffin Zakaria should intervene against the harsh and excessive one-year jail sentence imposed on imam Hoslan Hussein for throwing his shoes at the Federal Court judges
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption, Court, Financial Scandals, Judiciary, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Friday, 9 March 2012
For the past few days, Malaysian sense of decency and propriety had been pulverised by a battery of blows which collectively signal that something is very rotten with the Najib administration which is marking its third anniversary next month, viz:
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the one-year jail sentence by the Federal Court for contempt of court by imam Hoslan Hussein who flung his shoes at the three-man bench led by Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Zulkifli Ahmad Makinuddin on February 22;
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Two years for the High Court judge to produce a 70-page judgment on the murder trial of Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was blown to bits with C4 explosives, which was totally unconcerned about the motive of the murder.
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The denial of welfare aid and farming subsidies to disabled Sarawak farmer Frusis Lebi, 51, by Sarawak agriculture assistant minister Mong Dagang for supporting the opposition.
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The unending revelations of the horrors of the RM250 million National Feedlot Centre “cow condo” scandal reaching far beyond the shores of Malaysia, with the latest allegations of purchase of properties not only in Singapore but also in Kazakhstan involving public funds specifically meant to promote greater beef self-sufficiency in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Tajudin cannot be indemnified against prosecution, says Mat Zain
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Crime, Financial Scandals, Mahathir on Wednesday, 7 March 2012
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | March 07, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli is not immune from criminal prosecution over his handling of Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) during his tenure as its chairman, a former senior policeman has charged.
Referring to the out-of-court settlement reached between one-time national asset management firm Pengurusan Danaharta Bhd (Danaharta) and Tajudin, Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim said that this did not change the fact that three police reports with “damning allegations” had been filed by MAS against the tycoon in 2002, 2005 and 2009.
“[Even] if all civil suits between Tajudin and the rest of the parties involved, MAS in particular, were to be settled out of court, they do not in any way nullify the three reports made against Tajudin by the MAS management. Those reports still stand to be valid,” the ex-KL CID chief said in a statement today, and also challenged Tajudin’s successor, Datuk Seri Idris Jala, to refute allegations made in the 2009 report.
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Mahathir’s Disastrous Financial Speculation
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Mahathir on Tuesday, 6 March 2012
By Our Correspondent | Monday, 05 March 2012
Asia Sentinel
A murky and embarrassing case is closed, hiding top government officials’ involvement
Sometime over the next few days, a court in Kuala Lumpur will put the finishing touches to an agreement that allows Tajudin Ramli, the former head of Malaysian Airline System, not only to walk away from charges that he had allegedly looted the airline of tens of millions of US dollars but with an RM580 million (US$293.2 million) out-of-court settlement from the government.
It appears to be a settlement that the government would rather keep to itself. At the heart of the agreement with Tajudin is a convoluted story that began as long ago as the 1980s when Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, at the urging of then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, began speculating aggressively in global foreign exchange markets, at one time running up exposure rumored to be in the region of RM270 billion — three times the country’s gross domestic product and more than five times its foreign reserves at the time.
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Forgive and forget, the Umno Way
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 4 March 2012
— Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 04, 2012
MARCH 4 — This is the Umno way: Forget all debts and don’t bring up mistakes. And this enlightening statement is coming from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the then-agriculture minister who approved the now-infamous National Feedlot Centre project.
This is a most self-serving and irresponsible statement, not to mention dangerous.
Is this what we are supposed to teach our children? Just say sorry and all will be forgiven. There is no need to show remorse, make restitution or pay a price for breaking the law.
How about the common Malaysian? Just say sorry and there will be no need to be punished for cheating, theft, robbery, murder, criminal breach of trust, etc.
Muhyiddin’s statement is very much in keeping with the ridiculous stuff that we keep having to put up with. Don’t bring up my past transgressions even though I have not owned up to it because it is in the past. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should present White Paper to Parliament to present government case to justify a third bailout of RM840 million for Tajudin Ramli
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Good Governance on Saturday, 3 March 2012
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should present a White Paper to Parliament when it reconvenes on March 12 to present the government case to justify a third bailout of RM840 million for former Malaysian Airlines (MAS) chairman Tajudin Ramli – as well as reasons for the previous RM12 billion double bailouts for Tajudin.
The latest round of bailout revolves around the out-of-court settlement of Tajudin’s RM589 million debts which Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd had obtained in a Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment in December 2009.
The Minority Shareholders Watchdog Group (MSWG) described the judgment as probably the largest sum awarded in Malaysian legal history and computed that the total amount would have ballooned to RM840 million as the judgment allows Danaharta to charge an interest of two per cent over the base lending rate on the outstanding sum from Jan 1, 2006.
It raised questions all Malaysians are asking and which must be answered by the Prime Minister in Parliament, viz:
• What could have prompted Danaharta not to exercise its legal right to collect the outstanding amount?
• Why the government resorted to an out-of-court settlement despite winning the case in court?
The government write-off of RM840 million judgment debt due from Tajudin would at least be the third bailout of Tajudin using public funds, the first time involving RM1.8 billion bailout of Tajudin in December 2000 paying RM8.00 per share for his 29 per cent stake in MAS or more than double its market price then; and the second bailout in taking over the some RM10 billion losses suffered by MAS after Tajudin’s take over from 1994-2000. Read the rest of this entry »
RM840m Tajudin settlement puzzles shareholders’ group
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals on Saturday, 3 March 2012
Malaysiakini
Mar 2, 2012
The Minority Shareholders Watchdog Goup (MSWG) is puzzled by last month’s out-of-court settlement between several government-linked companies (GLCs) and former Malaysia Airlines chairperson, saying the unpaid debt would now have ballooned to RM840 million.
Its chief executive officer Rita Benoy Bushon says in the MSWG Newsletter that Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd, had in 2009 obtained a judgment for RM589 million against Tajudin from the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
“This is probably the largest sum awarded in Malaysian legal history. The judgment allows Danaharta to charge an interest of two per cent over the base lending rate on the outstanding sum from Jan 1, 2006.”
“A rough calculation shows that this amount would have ballooned to RM840 million. What could have prompted Danaharta tnot to exercise its legal right to collect the outstanding amount? We are somewhat perplexed by the out-of-court settlement,” Bushon said.
She also said it was unclear why the government resorted to an out-of-court settlement despite winning the case in court. Read the rest of this entry »
The future of FELDA after the listing
Posted by Kit in Felda, Financial Scandals on Thursday, 1 March 2012
By Sakmongkol AK47 | March 01, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
MARCH 1 — The question we should ask all thought leaders of FELDA is this. Why should a loss-making business entity, be allowed to do a reverse takeover of FELDA holdings? FGV owns 49 per cent of FELDA Holdings which has been making money all the time. FGV hasn’t got a track record and has no standing at all to come out with this proposal in the first place.
FGV is the business unit formed while Datuk Bakee (who is now Sime Darby CEO) was in FELDA. The idea of forming FGV to carry out international businesses was proposed by Ethos Consulting group. That adds some flavour to the meal.
Can FELDA tell everyone, how much did FGV lose really? We were only told of losses amounting to RM500 million. One thing we do know is, FGV is consistent. It has CONSISTENTLY lost money for five consecutive years. Perhaps Datuk Sabri Ahmad can disclose fully and honestly, how much FGV lost during those five years. Maybe he has gone to the PM and reported everything is OK sir. Najib is pleased to hear that kind of story.
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Will Mahathir propose Chua Soi Lek as UMNO President?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Hishammuddin, Mahathir, MCA, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 1 March 2012
It has been suggested that the response to Tun Dr. Mahathir’s “tongue-in-cheek” proposal that I be made PAS President is to ask whether Mahathir would propose Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek as UMNO President!
However, I think it is more productive to focus on Mahathir’s other “tongue-in-cheek” statement that all the Tuns and “their sons and grandsons too” should all be investigated in response to my call for a full audit and accounting into the RM100 billion losses from the financial scandals during Mahathir’s 22-year premiership.
Another bad news about Malaysian Airlines recording a whopping net loss of RM2.52 billion for 2011 despite round-after-round of billion-ringgit bailouts in the past two decades is salutary reminder that the root cause why the once national premier airline is reduced to such a parlous crisis stage today must be traced to Mahathir’s 1994 decision to use Bank Negara’s MAS shares to bail out Bank Negara from its RM30 billion foreign exchange losses.
Malaysians today are still paying for those financial scandals, none of which have ever been fully accounted for, as for instance in the recent RM580 million write-off by the Malaysian government with the “out-of-court” settlement between Danaharta and other GLCs with Tajudin Ramli on Feb. 14 with regard to all suits pending between them.
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Does Mahathir also want a RCI into the losses from the financial scandals during Tun Abdullah’s five year premiership?
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Financial Scandals, Mahathir on Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahahtir Mohamad seems to have given a “positive” response to my proposal for a full audit and accounting into the RM100 billion “black hole” caused by the losses of the financial scandals his his 22-year premiership.
I had said on Saturday that the time has come to revisit the RM100 billion “losses” suffered by the country during his 22-year premiership, especially if the present generation of Malaysians are still to pay for the “sins of Mahathir’s past premiership”.
This came about as a result of the RM580 million write-off by the Malaysian government with the “out-of-court” settlement between Danaharta and Tajudin Ramli on Feb. 14, the terms of which remain confidential between the two parties, where all suits pertaining to the court judgement of RM589.14 million that Tajudin was ordered to pay to Danaharta in 2009 would be dropped and Tajudin agreed to withdraw claims totally RM13.46 billion, involved in 27 appeals, 11 against Danaharta.
Core to Tajudin’s case is his affidavit that he was directed by former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir and former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainudin in 1994 to buy a controlling stake in MAS to bail out the government – a “national service” to help bail out Bank Negara after the central bank suffered massive foreign exchange losses due partly to speculation in foreign currency markets with an “Overriding Agreement” to indemnify him against any losses suffered.
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Mahathir past cascading into the Najib present – powerful reasons for full accounting for the RM100 billion “black hole” caused by Mahathir’s financial scandals
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Monday, 27 February 2012
Recently, the past has fast cascaded into the present – or to be more specific, the Mahathir past cascading into the Najib present.
Today the High Court in Kuala Lumpur fixed March 5 to decide whether to end the multi-billion ringgit legal battle between Malaysian Airlines (MAS) and Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli, by striking out MAS’ mega claims against Tajudin as well as his RM500 million counter-claim against the government and the national carrier.
Tajudin has been entangled in a complicated series of expensive suits, countersuits and appeals with various parties arising from his failure to service a billion ringgit loan he took to purchase a major stake in MAS in 1994. Read the rest of this entry »
Alangkah leganya jika terlepas dari cengkaman ‘bapa-bapa ayam’ ini
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Monday, 27 February 2012
By Aspan Alias | February 27, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
27 FEB — Selepas arahan dari Putrajaya, kini rakyat sedang berhadapan dengan isu berapa kah “settlement figure” yang sebenarnya yang telah ditetapkan untuk penyelesaian diluar mahkamah diantara Tajudin Ramli dengan MAS. Rakyat ingin tahu kerana semua wang yang terlibat dalam kes ini adalah wang rakyat. Tidak perlu menyalahkan sesiapa termasuk parti-parti pembangkang kerana apa yang berlaku dalam kes ini adalah di sebabkan oleh kelemahan dasar dan perlaksanaan kerajaan.
Semasa Tajudin mengambil alih MAS dalam proses perlaksanaan dasar “pengswastaan” kerajaan dahulu, banyak pihak telah membuat kritikan terhadap kerajaan pimpinan Dr Mahathir tetapi maklum sajalah Dr Mahathir tidak peduli dengan pandangan ramai kerana beliau berkata pengswastaan MAS itu adalah satu perkara yang “necessity”’ untuk dilakukan.
Pandangan pihak lain tidak perlu diambil kira. Entah apa sebabnya MAS yang begitu berjaya semasa itu hendak diswastakan sedangkan syarikat penerbangan kepunyaan kerajaan itu sangat maju dan MAS adalah diantara syarikat penerbangan yang “premium” dipesada antarabangsa. Hanya Dr Mahathir sahaja yang tahu kenapa ianya dilakukan.
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Najib – is RM589 million out-of-court settlement of Tajudin Ramli’s debts proof Malaysians today are still paying for RM100 billion Mahathir financial scandals?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Saturday, 25 February 2012
Malaysians are entitled to a frank and honest answer from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak whether the RM580 million out-of-court settlement of Tajudin Ramli’s debts is proof that Malaysians today are still paying for the RM100 billion financial scandals perpetrated in the 22 years Tun Dr. Mahathir was the Prime Minister. And if so, they want to know of other such instances.
More and more Malaysians are asking this question as there is total lack of transparency, accounting, explanation or details for the RM580 million out-of-court settlement with government-linked corporations (GLCS), raising the question whether the Barisan Nasional government has achieved another entry in the Guinness Book of Records in being the first government in the world to surrender a court judgment for RM580 million.
One big controversy among Malaysians today is who is to be believed, Mahathir or Tajudin Ramli about the “double bail-out” of MAS. Read the rest of this entry »
Time for a full audit and accounting of the RM100 billion losses in the financial scandals of the 22-year Mahathir premiership
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Friday, 24 February 2012
Malaysians are shocked and outraged by the cynical comment of former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who sought justification for the government’s bail out MAS which resulted in a loss of public funds on the specious ground that there were worse cases of bailouts after he stood down.
As example, he alleged that his successor Tun Abdullah lost about RM8 billion when he cancelled the double tracking and electrification project between Johor Baru and Padang Besar.
This is the classic perverse Mahathirish illogic that could righteously argue that so long as there is a greater financial scandal in later administrations under his successor-Prime Ministers, there is no need for him to feel remorse, guilt or responsibility for the colossal loss of public funds or for the lack of accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance with regard to the earlier financial scandals under his watch.
This is completely unacceptable.
Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir should not try to wriggle out of his responsibility to the nation to account for the MAS scandal reducing in less than a decade one of the continent’s top-fliers into the sick man of the airline industry
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Mahathir on Thursday, 23 February 2012
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad should not try to wriggle out of his responsibility to the nation to account for the Malaysian Airline System (MAS) scandal, reducing in less than a decade one of the continent’s top-fliers into the sick man of the airline industry.
Mahathir was too fast off-the-mark when he dismissed Datuk Zaid Ibrahim’s call that he “write a book” on why MAS was privatised to Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli in 1994, claiming that he was not in charge of the loss-making national carrier.
Mahathir is trying to re-write the history of his 22 years as Prime Minister to make Malaysians believe that he was a very “blur blur” Prime Minister who did not know what was going on in the various Ministries under him – not only disclaiming responsibility for the worst judicial crisis in the nation’s history with the sacking of the Lord President, Tun Salleh Abas and two Supreme Court judges, Tan Sri Sulaiman Pawanteh and Datuk George Seah; the darkest period of human rights violations with the Internal Security Act mass arrests under Operation Lalang but also the series of financial scandals under his watch including the MAS debacle.
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Siapa yang guna wang rakyat untuk kepentingan peribadi, sila kembalikan
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals on Wednesday, 15 February 2012
By Aspan Alias | February 15, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
15 FEB — Nazri Aziz meminta NFC membayar balik semua wang yang telah dipinjamkan oleh kerajaan sebanyak RM 250 juta itu. Nazri berpendapat Shahrizat Jalil tidak perlu berhenti atau berundur dari kerajaan.
Kata-kata Nazri ini memberikan banyak perkara yang membuatkan kita lebih memahami cara dan kaedah Umno menyelesaikan masalah yang dilakukan oleh pemimpin-pemimpin kita dan keluarga mereka.
Kenyataan Nazri ini boleh membayangkan cara berfikir dan sikap pemimpin kita berhubung dengan isu-isu besar yang dihadapi oleh negara. Sikap pemimpin kita boleh membezakan nilai diantara sikap serta “attitude” kepimpinan yang sepatutnya ada kepada pemimpin demokrasi dengan apa yang sebenarnya ada pada pimpinan kita.
Jika Shahrizat menjadi pemimpin dinegara maju, misalnya di England, beliau sepatutnya berhenti dari awal lagi untuk menjaga imej kerajaan.. Shahrizat adalah ahli jemaah Kabinet negara, maka etika wajar menjadi elemen yang terpenting dalam pentadbiran itu.
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It’s a mad, mad world
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Zairil Khir Johari on Friday, 18 November 2011
By Zairil Khir Johari | November 18, 2011
The Malaysian Insider
Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. So goes the ancient phrase that has, throughout the millennia, remained an appropriate and relevant dictum to this very day.
The systemic trait of madness has been an inherent hallmark of declining autocratic regimes since time immemorial. Take, for example, the story of the Roman emperor Caligula, whose reign began with much promise and great popularity, but who quickly succumbed to the luxuries of power and who, towards the end of his short-lived rule, attempted to appoint his favourite horse as a consul of the Roman Senate.
And then of course there is the late totalitarian President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan who, apart from styling himself Turkmenbashi (Leader of Turkmens), also deigned to rename calendar months after members of his own family, in addition to outlawing long hair and beards for Turkmen men and advising the citizenry to gnaw on bones in order to strengthen their teeth, because apparently it works for dogs.
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‘Cattlegate’: For BN, business as usual
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Financial Scandals, Mariam Mokhtar on Tuesday, 15 November 2011
By Mariam Mokhtar | Nov 14, 2011
Malaysiakini
Hey diddle diddle,
The MP on the fiddle
The cow jumped over the moon
Khairy laughed to see such sport,
And Noh cow-ed like a buffoon
‘Cattlegate’ has exposed the Women Family and Community Development Minister, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s ill-advised foray into the cattle business.
Shahrizat and her family are alleged to have misappropriated the taxpayers’ money; with RM250 million for the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), an RM800,000 overseas junket and a further RM10 million to purchase a luxury condominium in Bangsar.
Shahrizat’s husband operates the NFC and her three children, Izran, 27, Izmir, 31, and Izzana, 25 are chief executive and executive directors.
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Sinking deeper and deeper
Posted by Kit in Budget Debate, Economics, Finance, Financial Scandals on Wednesday, 2 November 2011
By S JAYASANKARAN, KL CORRESPONDENT | 31 Oct 2011
Business Times
MALAYSIA should take heed of the problems – the public anger, the social unrest – posed by the solutions offered to tackle rising sovereign debt in Europe. God forbid that we head that way!
The Auditor-General’s recent report pointed out that Malaysia’s national debt rose 12.3 per cent to over RM407 billion (S$165 billion) in 2010. The amount is equivalent to 53.1 per cent of gross domestic product. It’s the second straight year that the national debt has exceeded 50 per cent.
The figure is a reflection of the spending spree the country went on to mitigate the effects of the 2009 global financial crisis. At its peak that year, the budget deficit rose to 7.6 per cent of GDP, the highest in two decades.
It has since come down to 5.4 per cent of GDP and the government projects that it will decline further to 4.7 per cent of GDP next year. But that may be overly optimistic.
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