KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 ― Total government debt and liabilities as of June 2022 is estimated to be at RM1.42 trillion and will rise further next year as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration tabled a deficit Budget 2023, the biggest federal spending plan to date.

Federal government debt accounts for 61 per cent of debt-to-GDP, at RM1.04 trillion up from RM979.8 billion in 2021. Total debt and liabilities are about 82 per cent of GDP.

Guarantee commitments up to the same period rose to RM199 billion from RM197.3 billion in 2021. Total loans guaranteed by the government up to June 2022 stood at RM307 billion or 17.9 per cent of GDP, down from RM310.4 billion last year.

Government guarantees are conventionally excluded from the federal debt and liability balance sheet but there is increasing call by opposition lawmakers to include it into the national fiscal management debate after the 1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption exposed taxpayers to the fund’s massive debt.

Over RM50 billion had been leaked or embezzled through the sovereign fund founded by disgraced former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, now facing trial for multiple corruption and power abuse charges for his alleged role in the fiasco.

He has already been convicted of criminal breach of trust and embezzling RM42 million from SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.

Up to June this year, the Ministry of Finance said RM19 billion of the stolen monies have been recouped and deposited into a special account set up to clear 1MDB’s debt.

The Malaysian government is still exposed to RM25.9 billion of the fund’s debt up to June this year, or 1.5 per cent of total debt-to-GDP.

Meanwhile liabilities from private-public partnership projects, private-financing initiatives and programmes spearheaded by public infrastructure company PBLT Sdn Bhd dropped to RM149 billion from RM151 billion last year.