Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The Ministry of Finance of Malaysia submitted the Bill of Interim Financial Measures, which proposed to raise the public debt ceiling from the current 60 to 65 percent of GDP, to the National Assembly on September 28.

Malaysian Finance Minister ZafrulAziz said that by raising the public debt ceiling, it would provide morefiscal space to support the reopening of the economy and ensure a stablerecovery.

The Minister also affirmed that raising the public debtceiling is still in line with the government's commitment to fiscalconsolidation measures in the medium term. Along with that, the proposedFiscal Accountability Act (FRA) will also help improve governance, transparencyand accountability in national fiscal management.

He stressed that the government's current priority is toprotect people's lives and ensure that the country's economic growthprospects remain strong in the medium and long term. According to him, thesepriorities are in line with the core targets of the 12th MalaysiaPlan (12th MP) and the Commonwealth Vision 2030, and are based on principles of financialmanagement.

The official also said that, to ensure there is enough financialspace to implement development programmes under the 12MP framework, thegovernment is committed to implementing fiscal consolidation measures basedon the medium-term fiscal framework, including a medium-term budgetcollection strategy to expand tax revenue and increase debt solvency./.