Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he expects the country’s debt pressures to ease beginning end-2028, driven by the government’s efforts to reduce its fiscal deficit.

The federal government has reduced new borrowings to about 75 billion ringgit ($18.2 billion) this year, from 100 billion ringgit in 2021, Anwar said. It could cut it further to 20 billion ringgit next year if state governments didn’t ask for more allocations, he added.

“This is why the decline must take into account our ability to continue basic projects such as flood mitigation, basic infrastructure, education, health and others,” Anwar said in parliament on Tuesday, in response to a question from a lawmaker.

The government aims to narrow the fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product next year, from 3.8 percent in 2025, by slashing spending on subsidies and boosting tax collection.

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Anwar said on Tuesday the government still owed about 13 billion ringgit in 1MDB debt, adding that the state investment fund was the government’s biggest debt burden. The fund, formally known as 1Malaysia Development Bhd, took shape under former prime minister Najib Razak and became a multibillion dollar scandal that spawned probes across the globe.