KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak claims the national debt now is higher than the amount at the end of 2017, under his administration.

In a series of postings on his Twitter account, he said the national debt now stands at RM781.4 billion, compared with RM686 billion at the end of 2017.

“Borrow another RM18.6 billion, and our debt will reach RM800 billion officially,” he said.

The former premier uploaded an image of tabulated figures of government bond issuances and redemption and noted that the finance ministry made another issuance of RM4 billion recently.

“To date, the Pakatan Harapan government has borrowed RM58 billion (RM51 billion government sukuk and RM7 billion in Samura bonds) and has paid back RM17.7 billion,” he said.

The ex-premier went on to mock the current administration over news reports on the weakening of the ringgit.

“The PH government should take strict legal action against The Edge and Bloomberg who have clearly gone against the seventh prime minister’s (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) warning.

“The Edge and Bloomberg have not repented. They have ignored the seventh PM’s warning to stop speading fake news about Malaysia’s economy, which according to the seventh PM, is ‘performing very well’ under the PH administration.

Najib is currently being tried on abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering charges involving RM42 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds.