KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders must explain to the people the benefits of the inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the federal government and the coalition, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said today.

Lim said PH had agreed to the MoU in order to save lives and livelihood especially with the RM45 billion direct fiscal injection, which was previously rejected by the government but now accepted as part of a government policy.

“The success or failure of this historic MoU will depend on whether it can be fully implemented as promised according to the timelines set.

“PH is determined that the rakyat will directly benefit from the implementation of the MoU particularly a National Covid-19 Reset Plan to win the battle against Covid-19, and the RM45 billion Economic Turnaround Plan accompanied by a waiver of interest payments for three months during the bank loan moratorium for the poorest 50 per cent of the Malaysian population. 

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“The recent announcements by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz implementing these measures are the first fruits of success for the people benefiting from this MoU,” he said in a statement today.

Lim who is the former finance minister during PH’s administration also lauded the ministry's proposals to raise both the Covid-19 Fund by RM45 billion from RM65 billion to RM110 billion, and increase the statutory national debt limit from 60 per cent to 65 per cent of the GDP will help to support the people and businesses, particularly SMEs, during the reopening of the economy.

“PH is willing to lend support to such necessary legislation contingent on assurances that the direct grants will be given out speedily to the targeted goods needing such assistance,”

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Lim also touched on the written reply to a parliamentary question recently where Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said as much as 20 per cent or about 580,000 households from the M40 group have shifted to the income limit below the B40 group as well as the news of absolute poverty figure in Malaysia rose to 8.4 per cent in 2020 based on the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) as more reason for PH’s motivation to help the people.

“This drastic drop in incomes have motivated PH to set aside political differences and the quest to restore the electoral mandate stolen from the people given in the 2018 general elections to focus on saving the country and the people’s lives and livelihood,” he said.