PM gave wrong figures in speech, says ex-minister

Former transport minister Anthony Loke claimed that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had cited the wrong figures in portions of his televised address earlier today.

In a Facebook post, Loke (above) said a prime minister’s televised speech is a serious affair, and the facts and figures given must be accurate and should not mislead the public.

“I am not sure whether Transport Ministry officials had supplied the wrong figures to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), but PMO officers should check thoroughly before the prime minister delivers his speech live.

“I hope the PMO will correct those facts and would not repeat such factual mistakes,” he said today.

Loke was referring to the seventh paragraph in the text of Muhyiddin’s speech regarding the country's Covid-19 situation, which he delivered in a televised address at 4pm today.

In that part of the speech, Muhyiddin highlighted some of the aid delivered via the government’s economic stimulus packages, including allowances for drivers of various forms of public transport.

“To date, RM11.14 billion have been channelled to 10.4 million Bantuan Prihatin Nasional recipients. While 1.4 million e-hailing drivers have received RM500 cash allowances for a total of RM34 million.

“As many as 477,000 taxi drivers, tour bus drivers, and bus drivers have received RM600 cash allowances for a total of RM28.8 million,” Muhyiddin said earlier.

However, Loke pointed out that the number of e-hailing drivers registered with the Land Public Transport Agency is only around 120,000, not 1.4 million.

If 1.4 million drivers were paid RM500 each, the amount needed would have been RM700 million, not a mere RM34 million, he said. 

“I think a more accurate figure is RM34 million have been disbursed, and if this is divided by RM500, the number of recipients is 68,000. That’s far fewer than 1.4 million people,” he said.

Likewise, Loke said if 477,000 taxi and bus drivers were paid RM600 each, the total required would have been RM286.2 million, not RM28.8 million.

“If only RM28.8 million had been disbursed to pay RM600 to each person, the number of recipients is only 48,000 people, not 477,000. That is a ten times difference,” he added. - Mkini