The economic policies pursued by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is also the finance minister, are unsustainable over the long term, said an opposition leader today.

"I find that the BN (Barisan Nasional) has been desperate to pump prime the economy via debt financing. This would mean that any future government would inherit a tremendous debt burden," said PAS secretary-general Nasharuddin Mat Isa in malaysiakini 's online question-and-answer forum.

Nasharuddin said that the country's fiscal deficit will be breaching six percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), which is above the international best practice benchmark.