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KUALA LUMPUR – The federal government must provide a detailed explanation of its subsidy programme and distribution mechanism to the masses, said PKR communication chief Fahmi Fadzil.
The Lembah Pantai MP said this was vital to allow the rakyat to better understand the direction taken by the government and its impact on the economy, the Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal Getaran reported.
“The government’s plans on two particular items remain unclear. The first is the medium-term plan of its subsidy programme. Although it’s been said that it will remain until year-end, will it have other repercussions?
“Secondly, the mechanism of the subsidy distribution. We have heard how the aid will be given through Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM), but whether other assistance also exists, must be looked at.”
The PKR lawmaker said this when met by the media at the “Jualan Amal Prihatin Rakyat” programme held in collaboration with supermarket franchise Mydin at Dewan Terbuka Dataran Seri Angkasa, here, this afternoon.
Previously, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced additional aid ranging from RM50 to RM100 for BKM recipients to cushion the impact of the rising cost of living and inflation.
He said that with the additional allocation, each recipient now stands to receive up to RM500.
Commenting further on the current cost of living, Fahmi urged the cabinet to go to the ground to see for themselves the suffering endured by the rakyat.
He added that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economic Affairs) Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi ought to devise more proactive measures to ensure the rising cost of goods does not burden the public.
“The ‘Pasukan Khas Jihad Tangani Inflasi’ (Battling Inflation Taskforce) should not only be providing explanations but what are the steps they will be taking today?
“To date, we have only heard an announcement of the setting up of the taskforce. I feel that by right, in announcing it, they should have already come up with plans.
“There is already the National Action Council on Cost of Living (Naccol) since 2018, so certainly this council would have conducted studies. By right, the taskforce should be announcing what are the targets, recommendations and measures proposed by Naccol.” – The Vibes, July 2, 2022
