KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysia's debt-to-GDP ratio is lower now, resulting in a more manageable debt level, but the government will sell more assets to reduce borrowings.

"Well it (debt) has come down, and the Minister of Finance will know the exact figure. What happens is that when the economy grows in the last one year, it has grown, the percentage of debt to GDP becomes lower," he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

"Secondly, we have recovered a lot of money that was lost, also those kept by Singapore and all that, so that money helps to reduce the debt. We are also working hard on trying to reduce the contract value of ECRL, because if we don't continue with the project, we will have to pay very huge compensation, so that is being managed.

"But we see possibility of reducing more debts through identifying government assets which we can sell. So at the moment the process is going on, it is not static, it is being worked on all the time. So I can't give you the exact figure, but I believe it has been reduced quite considerably," he added.

Nonetheless, Dr Mahathir said he is not able to confirm whether the money recovered from Singapore is related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal or not.

"I will have to ask the Minister of Finance, he knows the figures better than me. We have recovered money, but I have to ask Minister of Finance, I don't carry the whole Cabinet in my head," he said.

Dr Mahathir also said the government may consider selling the government's land to Malaysians to raise funds to pare debts.

"We still have some assets, in fact, if necessary, we may sell even land belonging to the government, but of course we will sell the land to Malaysians, not foreigners, I think that will help reduce the borrowings," he said.