KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 — Government debt surged by more than 36 per cent between 2019 and 2022 as the Covid-19 crisis forced Putrajaya to borrow heavily, leaving subsequent administrations under mounting pressure to service the rising obligations, Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong told Parliament this morning.
Liew said emergency fiscal measures rolled out to cushion the pandemic’s economic fallout had pushed the government’s debt-servicing coverage ratio to 16 per cent in 2025, up from just over 12 per cent in 2019.
He delivered the figures during Question Time, noting that the spike reflected the cost of sustaining support throughout the crisis years.
The minister said this backdrop ultimately prompted the Anwar administration to enact the Fiscal Responsibility Act, or Act 850, which commits the government to tighter spending discipline as it works to consolidate public finances and pare down the deficit.
“Federal government debt during that period (2019-2022) rose to RM286.6 billion, a 36 per cent increase or a debt-to-GDP ratio of 60.2 per cent in 2022 compared to 52.4 per cent in 2019,” Liew said.
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