The ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP), which stands at 53 percent currently, is still considered "healthy" for the country as trading and revenue continue to rise, says former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

    

NONE "We can still pay our debts. We still can pay as we see investments yielding high profit. During my administration, a RM300 million profit made by Maybank is already considered as large.

"Now, Maybank has gained RM6 billion," he told Bernama in an interview in Putrajaya today.

Dr Mahathir ( right ) also reminded Malaysians to keep in mind that one of the European countries, Greece, could not pay its debts as the ratio had exceeded 100 percent.

"Greece may not be able to pay," he said.

    

Dr Mahathir added that Bank Negara Malaysia's current savings were about US$140 billion as compared to the amount of an estimated US$30 billion at the time of his administration. (US$1=RM3.08)

As at Jan 31, 2013, Bank Negara's international reserves totaled US$140.2 billion.

He said the reserves’ position was sufficient to finance 9.5 months of retained imports, and was 4.2 times higher than the short-term external debt.

azlan The central bank's total assets, including international reserves, stood at US$158 billion.

Malaysia also has large deposits in institutions such as the Tabung Haji, Permodalan Nasional Bhd and the Felda scheme, he said.

    

"We've adequate savings, high enough," said Dr Mahathir, who was also Malaysia's former finance minister.

When asked whether Malaysia's trade was still dependent on western countries, despite the latter’s sluggish economy, he said that "we're no longer dependent on the West. Our exports to the West have not increased, and the West also cannot afford to invest now."

He added that foreign investments are now coming from the East, and Malaysia's trade with these countries have been increasing.

'Look East, instead of West'

"Our trade with China, for example, is good and it's very high. Our trades with other Asean member countries have also increased. So, we don't have to assess our economic progress based on our trade with the West," he said.

“Instead, the assessment should take into account the economic progress that Malaysia has made around the world.

    

azlan "Our exports to throughout the world are still on the uptrend, with our surplus still growing," he said.

Malaysia's total trade saw a three percent growth last year, in spite of the global economic, financial turmoil, and tepid demand.

Even though growth was below the expected projection, Malaysia registered its highest total trade of RM1.31 trillion last year vis-a-vis RM1.27 trillion in 2011.

In 2012, exports grew by 0.6 percent to RM702.19 billion, while imports expanded by 5.9 percent to RM607.36 billion.

    

The trade surplus in 2012 was RM94.82 billion, which made it the 15th consecutive year of trade surplus for Malaysia.

    

Among the top five trading partners, trade expansion was recorded with Asean (+8.2 percent) and China (+8.0 percent), whereas trade with the United States dwindled by 2.8 percent.

    

- Bernama

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