After being accused of bribing Malaysians, Perikatan is now being accused of not paying enough
One damage that the Pakatan Harapan government left for the new government to solve is the inaction and apathy regarding the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Two months were wasted and nothing was done until the Perikatan Nasional government took over. And that failure is going to cost Malaysia a lot in terms of lives and money.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
It is not easy to please Malaysians. When you give Malaysians ‘free’ money, you are accused of bribery or of buying support. “Cash is king,” said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Pakatan Harapan. They even said giving Malaysians money for not working is making the Malays lazy.
Anyway, the biggest criticism against Najib Tun Razak and Barisan Nasional was that they were giving away too much money (bribing Malaysians, said Mahathir and Pakatan). Take the RM2.6 billion donation from Saudi Arabia as one example. Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan said the money was stolen from 1MDB — and they used this issue to bring down the government.
Of course, that is now being proven false in Najib’s SRC International trial. The RM2.6 billion was not stolen money and was a donation after all. And the money was spent to fund political activities (which is not a crime) plus to fund other non-political activities.
Mahathir is against giving free money of any kind to Malaysians
But that is all water under the bridge now. The damage has been done and cannot be undone. Barisan Nasional was ousted and Malaysia suffered 21 months of a Pakatan Harapan government. And the damage that Pakatan Harapan created is going to take a long time to repair.
One damage that the Pakatan Harapan government left for the new government to solve is the inaction and apathy regarding the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Two months were wasted and nothing was done until the Perikatan Nasional government took over. And that failure is going to cost Malaysia a lot in terms of lives and money.
How many people are going to die is of concern to most of us. But what is of even greater concern is the affect the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is going to have on our personal finances plus on the economy of the country.
Yes, hundreds of billions are going to be lost. Both the government and the private sector are going to suffer huge loses. Malaysians are going to have to pay back these losses for decades to come. Do not be surprised if long after many of us are dead, 20 or 30 years from now, the country is going to still be paying for the ravages of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Muhyiddin is doing far more than what Pakatan Harapan ever did and still he is being accused of not doing enough
The Perikatan Nasional government realises that the economic or financial problem is rapidly overtaking the health problem. In a month or two (if every Malaysian obeys the “stay home and do not mingle in crowds” order) some of us will be dead and many who are affected with the virus would have recovered. But in two or three years from now we shall still be suffering financially the after-effects of the virus.
The policy of allowing EPF withdrawals during this Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic crisis is being criticised. True, that is our pension money and we shall need to live on that when we retire. But the immediate problem is we need to feed our families today, not worry about what to do 20 years or 30 years from now when we might be dead tomorrow or next week anyway.
In an emergency situation, emergency measures are required. If the 222 MPs and 500 plus ADUNS are so concerned (total about 800 wakil rakyat in all) then why not they volunteer to forgo their salaries, perks and allowances for the next three months? The nine state Raja-Raja Melayu and Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong can offer to do the same thing.
Malaysians are so stubborn that the army is now needed to enforce the stay home order
Hundreds of millions can be saved and the savings can be used to fund the fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Sitting at home and attacking the government is not really helping when you are still enjoying your perks and benefits of office.
In short, put your money where your mouth is.
Anyway, the Sarawak state government appears to be doing something sensible, which maybe the federal government can learn from (READ THE NEWS ITEM BELOW).
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Free face masks, utility bill discounts among 16 measures in Sarawak aid package
Borneo Post
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has announced 16 measures under the Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance Package to help Sarawakians face challenging times now now due to the economic slum and the Covid-19 outbreak.
Costing the state government more than RM1.1 billion, the package is expected to benefit all Sarawakians, including the frontliners in the fight against the viral outbreak.
The 16 measures are:
MEASURE 1: ELECTRICITY BILL DISCOUNT
Domestic, Commercial and Industrial consumers given a discount of five per cent to 25 per cent on monthly electricity bill for April until September 2020, benefitting 686,847 users. The average cost for monthly electricity bill discount is RM27.8 million and the cumulative cost amounts to RM166.8 million. This special one-off discount of the electric bill will be borne by the Sarawak Government.
