KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — The growing national and household debt in the country means it might be vulnerable in case of a currency speculation attack, former Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

"I am worried that with the state of the government debt and the high household debt, along with foreign reserves dropping... we would not withstand a currency speculation attack,” Muhyiddin told Dewan Rakyat while debating the 2017 federal Budget today.

"I say this as a mere warning,” he added.

Malaysian’s national debt is now at 53.5 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is still below the self-imposed ceiling of 55 per cent.

Muhyiddin also said that the country was able to recover from the 1997 currency speculation attack due to strong foreign reserves and high commodity prices.

"The government then had enough financial resources to carry out initiatives to spur the economy and recover from the crisis,” he added.