IPOH, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- The government will focus efforts on reducing the country's debt apart from helping the rakyat as well as boost the economy in formulating Budget 2013.
Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said the country's debt currently stands at 53 per cent of gross domestic product.
"We are looking at ways to reduce the country's debt, and we have several methods which we are looking at.
"If we can reduce debt...it means in the context of fixed expenditure, it can be be reduced also," he told reporters after a 'shopping with orphans' programme at a hypermarket, here today.
He said the government is currently in the process of formulating Budget 2013 covering operating and development expenditure.
"Our development expenditure has already been stated in the Tenth Malaysia Plan. We allocated a total of RM49 billion...that is fixed. What we are working on now is the operating expenditure," he said.
Ahmad Husni said the operating expenditure has been increasing because it involved fixed expenditure such as pension payment, emoluments and debt.
"We have prepared the first draft for Budget 2013 and we are updating it. And we will continue to update it until the final stage a few days before the tabling of the budget.
"Now we are reviewing it with inputs that we have received as we want Budget 2013 to be able to spur the economy as well as help the rakyat," he said.
Budget 2013 will be tabled in Parliament by the prime minister on Sept 28.