No jobs, no food but minister claims economy improving, says Anwar

 

Anwar Ibrahim chides Azmin Ali over his statement that the economy was already seeing signs of recovery in the current second quarter.

PETALING JAYA: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has hit back at a senior minister who claimed that the economy is improving when in reality there are more people than ever struggling to earn a living and put food on the table.

In a Facebook Live broadcast tonight, the PKR president said even the Malay Rulers have raised concerns over the economic despair among the people.

“The gross domestic product (GDP) is negative, there has been no improvement, yet a minister claims it is improving. This differs from the views of economists who claim otherwise,” he added.

According to Anwar, there is underemployment in the country because the Statistics Department classifies anyone who is working for even one hour a week, as “employed”.

“We know that is not enough to survive,” he said.

He added that MPs are constantly visited by people appealing for help as they have no food to eat or are looking for jobs.

“Yet, we have a minister telling us that the economy is growing.”

Anwar was referring to a statement made by international trade and industry minister Azmin Ali earlier today, that the economy was expected to improve this year with a higher GDP.

Azmin had reportedly said that the economy was already seeing signs of recovery in the current second quarter.

The former PKR deputy president added that the government was awaiting the GDP numbers for the second quarter to be released before deciding whether to revise its target of 6.0%-7.5% growth this year.

Anwar reiterated that even the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, and his fellow Rulers had raised concerns over the handling of Covid-19, vaccination rate, economic despair, political stability, unity, and jobs, among others.

With that in mind, he called for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to resign, saying the latter has failed to handle these issues and also lost the support of politicians and the rakyat.

Yesterday, Istana Negara issued a statement advising the government to reconvene Parliament as soon as possible while the Malay Rulers said that there was no need to extend the emergency beyond Aug 1. - FMT