Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad says national debt is 65 percent of GDP

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The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday that the new government will look to cut down the country’s debt which amounts to 1 trillion ringgit, by aborting or reviewing some projects and cutting salaries of cabinet ministers.

Mahathir also said the national debt is 65 percent of the GDP. Ousted premier Najib Razak has said previously that the debt was below his government’s self-imposed ceiling of 55 percent of GDP.

“I’ve been informed that our debt is actually 1 trillion ringgit, but today we were able to study and look for ways to reduce this debt,” he said at a press conference.