PARLIAMENT Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte "envies" the Malaysian economy, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak claimed in Parliament today.

"Yesterday, I met the Netherlands Prime Minister and he said that our economic performance is way better than his own country's," Najib said.

"I will quote what he said to me - 'I envy your economic performance'," Najib said in response to Ahmad Hamzah (BN-Jasin) during Question Time.

Najib said so while defending the national debt levels of 53 percent, saying that the high levels of debt are "not a threat" to the country's economy.

Meanwhile, Najib also said that while the household debt stands at 80 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), this was also not threatening as the debts are related to assets which would "appreciate in value"over time"

"The Gini coefficient has also improved slightly this year. The difference between races had reduced, and the gap between rural and urban had also reduced. It's just that the gap within all races had not changed," he said.

Najib also said that the government would "intervene positively" in the market to ensure that the bumiputera agenda was kept alive.


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