MySara: Government’s RM2 billion handout ‘insult to Malaysians’, says Azmin
The blanket handout failed to address the real needs of households struggling with the rising cost of living.
HANI SHAMIRA SHAHRUDIN ASHWIN KUMAR
SHAH ALAM - Perikatan Nasional (PN) has criticised the government’s move to disburse RM100 cash assistance to all Malaysians regardless of income, describing it as wasteful and ‘an insult’ to the people.
Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said that the government’s blanket handout of RM2 billion failed to address the real needs of households struggling with the rising cost of living.
“Any form of assistance by the government should be more targeted. Recently the government gave RM100 to all Malaysians irrespective of class and status, that is an insult to average Malaysians.
“You spent RM2 billion to please everyone, but it doesn’t work that way,” he told Sinar Daily when met at Karangkraf Media Headquarters, here.
He added that while both the B40 and M40 groups still require government assistance, any support must be sustainable and tailored to specific needs rather than short-term cash payouts.
“If you craft policies or have deeper discussions on the actual needs of Malaysians, I’m sure you can come up with better solutions and a more targeted approach.
“Right now, I don’t think they can sustain this habit of simply dishing out cash to voters,” he said.
The former Selangor Menteri Besar also pointed to failures of past government initiatives, citing the Padu, which involved large expenditures but failed to deliver.
“They spent billions of taxpayers’ money but at the end of the day, the system failed. So I don’t know what the current government’s focus is, do you want to solve these issues or award contracts to cronies and friends, as is widely known in the market?” he said.
He stressed that Malaysians need a stronger government with credible policies to address long-term economic challenges, pledging that PN would step up with viable alternatives.
“I hope the people will realise that they need a stronger government that can address these issues.
“PN would like to offer our service and leadership to support the rakyat in the upcoming election,” he said.
The Sara scheme is part of the government’s targeted aid initiative, channelled through cashless transactions at participating outlets nationwide.
The one-off RM100 Sara credit, disbursed via MyKad from Aug 31, is set to benefit 22 million adults nationwide at a cost of RM2 billion.
It comes on top of existing Sara and Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) aid, which this year amounts to RM15 billion.
However, the rollout on the first day was marred by technical glitches when the national verification system crashed under heavy usage as shoppers thronged supermarkets to redeem the credit.
Many were left with no choice but to pay out of pocket or abandon their trolleys.
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