PN has failed the people if Unicef report is true, says Najib

 

A Unicef survey of 500 households in Kuala Lumpur’s low-cost flats has found that unemployment increased from 7% in September to 15% in December last year.

PETALING JAYA: Najib Razak says if it is true that unemployment rates among low-income urban households in the Klang Valley have increased two-fold during the conditional lockdown last year, then the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has failed the people.

A Unicef survey of 500 households in Kuala Lumpur’s low-cost flats found that unemployment had increased from 7% in September to 15% in December, with one in three adults in these households being without a job.

The poverty rate for families led by females or disabled persons was also especially high, where nearly half of them were living in poverty, says the report titled “Families on the Edge”.

In a Facebook post, Najib said he was saddened and angered by the report, reiterating that the effects of a prolonged conditional movement control order (CMCO) were far worse than a strict, yet short, MCO.

“That’s why I asked the government to impose a proper MCO that’s tight, coupled with the necessary government aid, so that the effects are short and it’s not extended multiple times.

“But the government did not listen. What benefit has the people obtained from the past 27 days of this half-baked MCO 2.0? Covid-19 cases are still high, while active cases yesterday were 51,241.”

Najib said there was increasing speculation that Putrajaya “intentionally loosened” restrictions for MCO 2.0 so that Covid-19 cases would remain high, thus allowing the lockdown and emergency to be extended.

He said he hoped this was not true, adding that it would be treason against the people as Putrajaya would be sacrificing the people’s health and welfare.

“If this Unicef report is true, then the government has already failed to take care of the people. I hope the PN government will deny this report,” he added. - FMT