KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said ratings agencies should be fair in their assessments and recognise the new government’s efforts to improve its finances amid speculation that Malaysia’s credit rating may be reviewed.

The Langkawi MP told US news network CNBC that Putrajaya’s transparency about its debt situation should be viewed positively, noting that the national debt pile was reduced by almost RM30 billion since Pakatan Harapan took power in May.

"We’re worried of course if we’re downgraded,” Dr Mahathir told CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah in an interview aired this morning.

"But the rating agencies should understand that when you are open and you reveal all the truth about the situation in the country, they should take that into consideration, they should also think what we’re doing in order to improve the situation.”

To date, the two major rating firms, Fitch and Moody’s, have maintained Putrajaya’s credit rating as stable but expressed explicit concerns about how the new administration plans to reduce the deficit as a shaky global trade climate could hurt exports and oil revenue.

The same firms have also warned about Malaysia’s supposed over-dependence on oil.

In the interview with CNBC, Dr Mahathir shoved aside views that Malaysia was overly-dependent on oil income, and said it has other revenue sources like palm oil and manufacturing. Up to 80 per cent of Malaysian exports are from manufacturing, he told CNBC.

"We’re not dependent on oil revenues. You see, we’re a small producer of oil, 600,000 barrels a day, nothing compared to countries like Saudi which is entirely dependent upon oil revenue.

"We have other sources of revenue, we produce a lot of palm oil which used to fetch good prices. 82 per cent of our exports are made up of manufactured goods, so how can you say we’re dependent upon oil revenue. It’s not.”

Putrajaya has stated its commitment to reduce the deficit to 3 per cent by 2020. Upon taking power, Pakatan Harapan claimed the national debt stood at more than a trillion ringgit.

Dr Mahathir told CNBC his administration is on schedule to meet the deficit target.

"Now it’s 3.7 per cent and I think we can bring it down further,” the Langkawi MP said.

"But of course the fact is that the previous government borrowed huge sums of money, we have to pay interest on that, we have to pay the money that we borrowed and that, of course, affects our ability to attend to other issues,” he added.