Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli must explain to the rakyat the recent increase in Bank Negara's overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to three percent.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim said this is because he does not want the disgruntled rakyat to "punish" the government over the matter in the upcoming elections in six states.
"Bank Negara has its reasons to increase the OPR. We would like to think that the monetary policy committee made the decision (to increase the rate) for the country's long-term macroeconomic interests.
"At the same time, Bank Negara must also act in line with the government, which is trying to help the people, who are saddled with a high cost of living," the outspoken PKR lawmaker said in a statement today.
Hassan stressed that it is the middle-income earners (M40) and low-income earners (B40), which make up 80 percent of the country's population, are the worst hit by the OPR increase.
"I don't want people in the six states where elections are set to be held soon to show their disapproval of the government with a cynical question of whether the OPR stands for 'Operasi Peras Rakyat' (Operation to extort the people).
"I hope it will not come to that. Rafizi and Anwar, if you read this, please explain," Hassan wrote.
In announcing the recent increase, Bank Negara said it was needed to normalise monetary accommodation as the economy was resilient and it needed to manage persistent inflation. - Mkini
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