COMMENT Malaysia came out of the ‘Great Recession' (2008-09) relatively little the worse for wear, but bearing a higher burden of debt than is common among emerging markets, both in the public as well as in the private sector.

While concern over Malaysia's public sector debt has been less evident in the public discourse lately, those concerns are never far away. At 52.9% of GDP in 2012, the debt level is nowhere near the onerous burdens carried by many advanced economies, with much of the increase in debt due to the 6.7% fiscal deficit incurred during the Great Recession...