KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The Federal Government’s Covid-19 expenditure amounted to RM38.019bil in 2020, says the Auditor-General. Operating expenditure declined 14.7% to RM224.6bil, a decrease of RM38.743bil compared to 2019 while development expenditure amounted to RM51.36bil, a decrease of RM2.813bil or 5.2% compared to RM54.173bil in 2019. Meanwhile, in the Emphasis of Matter on the Federal Government's Financial Statements, the Auditor-General stated that the federal government's debt in 2020 amounted to RM879.560bil or 62.1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Nik Azman said overall, the Federal Government's financial statements showed a true and fair view of the government's financial position for the year ended Dec 31, 2020 and its accounting records were orderly and up to date. It is the second tabling of the report in the Dewan Rakyat this year after the Auditor-General's Report 2019 Series 2 was tabled on Sept 28.

Source: The Star October 28, 2021 04:22 UTC