Minister Dismisses Claims Govt Will Be Bankrupt By 2019

BUTTERWORTH (Penang, Malaysia), Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nor Mohamed Yakcop on Sunday dismissed claims that the country will be bankrupt by 2019, saying it is political game of the opposition and an attempt to intimidate the people. He said domestic spending is growing by the year. "If the people have apprehensions about the government, they will not spend. But, the reverse is happening. Domestic spending is going up annually. The people are not afraid to spend because they know that the country is progressive," he told reporters at the Chinese New Year "open house" in the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary constituency, here. He was asked to comment on the claims by various quarters, including the opposition, that Malaysia will be bankrupt by 2019 and that the people should vote for the opposition instead of the ruling Barisan Nasional in the next general election. Nor Mohamed, who is the MP for Tasek Gelugor in northern state of Penang, said there is no issue of the country going bankrupt because since independence the people have enjoyed an improving living standard. He said the government has introduced various strategies to raise the living standard of the people and the nation's economy through transformation programmes, among them the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Rural Transformation Programme (RTP). -- BERNAMA Malaysia