Govt to ensure RM1t national debt can be contained

PUTRAJAYA: The Government is compelled to implement some of the 100-day promises from the PH election manifesto in order to ensure that the RM1 trillion national debt can be contained, if not reduced, according to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
He said the promises included the targeted petrol subsidies for cars below 1,300 cc and motorcycles below 125cc, the Employees Provident Fund contribution scheme for housewives, the increase in minimum wage, and the deferment of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation loan repayment until the RM4,000 monthly income threshold.
The "Skim Peduli Sihat" will only be implemented when the financial situation improved, he added.
"As much as we would like to implement all of the 100-day promises, this Federal Government is fiscally responsible and would not follow the previous government's example of fiscal imprudence which would almost certainly have led the nation on a path to bankruptcy.
"The Federal Government continues to be committed to implement its manifesto promises when the financial situation permits," he told a press conference, here today. — Bernama