The federal government recovered only 5% of the RM9.273 billion in outstanding debts owed to it last year, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim told the Dewan Rakyat.
Debating the 2026 Auditor-General’s Report, Hassan said the low recovery rate was concerning, particularly as federal debt increased by 5.9% last year to RM1.321 trillion.
“The government is quite good at borrowing but not good at recovering debts,” he said.
Hassan said the Auditor-General’s Report showed that billions of ringgit owed to the federal government by various parties remained unpaid, with some debts outstanding for as long as 40 years.
He said the findings pointed to weaknesses in the government’s debt collection system.
His remarks come amid scrutiny over outstanding payments owed to government agencies, including RM314 million in arrears involving Zetrix AI Bhd, a subsidiary of MyEG Group.
On Monday, Zetrix said it had submitted a proposed solution to the government to address the arrears owed to the Road Transport Department (JPJ). Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook said the amount involved fees and summonses collected by the company since May, adding that the ministry and JPJ would set a deadline for settlement and take appropriate action to recover the funds.
Hassan also urged the government not to use taxpayers’ money to bail out loss-making government-linked companies or private firms, citing the country’s high debt levels.
Without naming the company, he referred to a major national airline which he said had RM18.4 billion in short-term debt and quarterly losses of RM830 million.
Hassan said the government should reject any request for financial assistance from the airline.
“If this company knocks on the Finance Ministry’s door and asks for help, I hope the government rejects it because the government itself is in debt,” he said.
His remarks appeared to refer to AirAsia, which denied last month that it was seeking a government bailout.
AirAsia Group co-founder and adviser Tony Fernandes said the airline’s operations remained sustainable and that it had never sought government assistance throughout its 25 years of operations.
He also dismissed reports that the government had approached rival airlines to absorb some of AirAsia’s domestic routes, saying Putrajaya had confirmed to him that no such discussions had taken place.
