PUTRAJAYA, Sept 3 — The government today defended its decision not to give the RM100 one-off special payment in cash, saying the credit is part of a programme meant to help households buy essential goods.
The RM100 credit was distributed under Sumbangan Asas Rahmah, an existing programme to help low-income households, but extended to all adults above 18 years old as a one-time-only payment announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in July.
“There was some criticism by the public and some MPs had asked why not give the RM100 in cash instead of crediting it into our MyKad,” Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil told reporters at the weekly post-Cabinet press conference here.
“We’d like to remind them that this is part of Sumbangan Asas Rahmah, a programme to help provide basic goods amid rising cost of living,” he added.
Fahmi also claimed there was an attempt to turn the programme into a racial issue, but he dismissed the allegation as baseless.
“This isn’t true. There are over 7,000 business premises providing basic goods under the programme… they include hyperlocal shops, bumiputera businesses like Mydin and supermarkets that are international in nature,” he said.
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