A DAP leader today criticised MCA president Wee Ka Siong for calling for a mechanism that would allow Malaysians who do not need the RM100 one-off cash aid announced yesterday to return the funds.
In a statement, Lim Lip Eng said Wee had issued his statement without checking the facts.
Lim, the Kuala Lumpur DAP secretary, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had already explained that any unused funds would be automatically returned to the government after Dec 31.
“The policy is clear. But Wee chose to ignore it and made a misleading statement just to stay in the spotlight.
“As a former minister and current MP, it is unacceptable for him to misunderstand such a simple matter,” he said.
Wee had urged the government to introduce such a mechanism, saying the returned funds could be channelled to healthcare and education.
Anwar, in his announcement, had said that the cash aid for Malaysian adults under the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah initiative would be channelled through recipients’ MyKads.
He said the funds could be used between Aug 31 and Dec 31 to purchase basic necessities from over 4,100 outlets, including hypermarkets such as Mydin, Lotus, Econsave, and 99 Speedmart.
He also said that the government planned to redistribute any unclaimed funds to programmes in aid of vulnerable groups next year.
Lim said it was fine to criticise the government, but that comments should be based on facts.
“Spreading confusion is not leadership. It is just noise,” he added.
