The government's tabling of a bill to raise the national statutory debt limit from 55 percent to 60 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) was a necessary move, say economists today.

Responding to the tabling of the Temporary Measures for Government Financing (Coronavirus Disease 2019 [Covid-19]) Bill 2020 in the Dewan Rakyat, three economists concurred that the move would allow the government access to more funds for targeted responses aimed at helping people to overcome hardships during the current global health crisis...