Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz today reiterated that the government stands ready to provide additional fiscal support should there be a need in order to preserve the well-being of the people and businesses as well as strengthen the country’s healthcare system, while minimising scarring to the wider economy.

For this year alone, the government has announced four assistance packages with RM26.8 billion in fiscal injections.

Consequently, he said, the deficit was expected to increase from 5.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as targeted in Budget 2021, to around 6.5-7 percent of GDP, with statutory debt expected to hit the ceiling of 60 percent by end of the year.

In total, there have been eight stimulus and assistance packages...