KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's debt is still manageable as it is below 55 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.

He said the 53.8 per cent of national debt for last year is within the range as the government continues its efforts to bring down the fiscal deficit level.

"With the implementation of the Economic Transformation Programme, we are on the right trajectory and continue to reduce the deficit level every year. For 2012, we aim to narrow further the fiscal deficit to 4.7 per cent from 5.0 per cent of last year's GDP," he told the media on the sidelines of the GTP Roadmap 2.0 Open Day here on Tuesday.

Citing the Mass Rapid Transit project, Idris said though the government had to raise funds for the project, it still managed to keep the debt level below 55 per cent.

"We borrow for investments (aiming) to grow our GDP and economy. The debt level will directly reduce. Unlike Greece, they are borrowing a lot of money but the economy is shrinking," he added.

Idris, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU), said Malaysia's GDP at 4.7 per cent in the first quarter was still growing, whereas Singapore's only grew at 1.4 per cent, due to the slowdown in the global economy.

"This is good...with more investments coming in and positive indicators, going forward," he added.

The GTP Roadmap 2.0 Open Day at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre aims to gather feedback from the public and provide a basis for review for PEMANDU.

The GTP Roadmap 2.0 was formulated after PEMANDU conducted a series of labs, held over six weeks in April and May, to identify key issues and new areas of growth opportunities, which would work on within the National Key Results Areas. - Bernama