BR1M was Bank Negara’s idea, not a political gimmick, says Najib

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak says the idea to give money as a 'one-off' aid to those from the low-income bracket came from Bank Negara and not from the Prime Minister's Office. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, May 16, 2015.The 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) people's aid was a suggestion by Bank Negara and was not a political gimmick, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said, as he defended the programme which has come under criticism recently, especially from former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The prime minister said that the suggestion for BR1M, which was supposed to be an "one-off" aid, came about in order to help those in the bottom 40% income bracket.

"We will continue helping the people to overcome living costs. We introduced BR1M. Tun Mahathir said BR1M makes the people lazy. He did not agree with it," Najib told some 15,000 people at the launch of a low cost housing project in Johor Baru today.

"But BR1M does not make us lazy. It's a safety net, it transfers the nation's wealth in a short period of time," he said.

He then asked the crowd if they thought BR1M made them lazy, to which they answered with a resounding "No!".

"Want it to be continued?" he asked. "Yes!" the crowd answered.

- TMI