Ismail continued Jana Wibawa but only Bersatu targeted - Azmin

 

Despite legal threats, Perikatan Nasional (PN) has stood firm on its position that corruption allegations surrounding the Jana Wibawa programme are a government conspiracy against the coalition.

PN information chief Mohamed Azmin Ali questioned why only Bersatu leaders were targeted for investigation and prosecution, even though the programme continued under the premiership of Umno’s Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Among others, he pointed out that the charges against former Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan were for offences allegedly committed in April 2022 for one charge and between July 2022 and September 2022 for another charge.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, however, already resigned as prime minister on Aug 16, 2021.

Azmin claimed this is proof the federal government led by Pakatan Harapan and BN are using government institutions in a clumsy attempt at political persecution, to undermine PN’s credibility in the coming six state elections.

“This is an evil conspiracy by the Harapan-BN government to salvage their increasingly unpopular position, as shown in the latest public sentiment survey,” he said in a statement today, referring to a survey conducted by O2 Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

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READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | What is the Jana Wibawa programme?

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A group of academics have since criticised the survey’s methods, saying the population surveyed is not representative of the electorate, which could skew results.

Azmin’s statement was made in response to a legal letter from BN, which demanded Muhyiddin and Azmin publicly apologise for defamation and pay compensation.

This was in reference to the duo’s allegations that the Jana Wibawa-linked charges against Wan Saiful and Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlan Adam Muhammad were part of Harapan and BN’s efforts to cripple PN and cover up its own weaknesses.

Azmin said the allegations were based on facts already stated in a police report made by Bersatu’s youth wing on Feb 15.

Even before the charges were pressed against Wan Saiful and Adam Radlan, BN and Harapan leaders were already making statements about that eventuality.

Azmin pointed out that on Jan 13, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said a new “court cluster” will emerge from PN.

“Court cluster” is a pejorative label referring to BN leaders who faced corruption and related charges, particularly during the Pakatan Harapan administration since 2018.

Then, Umno information chief Isham Jalil made a similar statement on Jan 27 even though there were no charges at the time.

Azmin also referred to Anwar’s past statements regarding the extent of graft allegedly found in previous administrations, with different amounts being announced before settling on RM300 million allegedly from Jana Wibawa.

When the charges were finally pressed against Wan Saiful and Adam Radlan, the total sum allegedly involved was only RM6.9 million – far less than any number Anwar mentioned before.

“The charges clearly show there is a conspiracy of slander against Bersatu and PN that has been poorly planned,” Azmin said. - Mkini

Govt should study effectiveness of income initiatives - MP

 

The government through the Economy Ministry should find solutions to increase the income of the people and the country, including studying and measuring the effectiveness of the initiatives implemented, said Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin.

At the debate session on the Supply Bill 2023 in the Dewan Rakyat today, she suggested the government conduct a longitudinal study by collecting data on income and employment development for each recipient of the initiatives.

"The results of the study should be tabled in Parliament from time to time.

"Hence, Parliament can objectively assess whether the initiatives carried out by the government are really helping the target groups, and subsequently refine and improve them (as) our policies must be outcome-based," she said.

Among the initiatives implemented by the government is the People's Income Initiative (IPR) which targets the hardcore poor and the B40 group (bottom 40 percent of income earners) to earn a minimum monthly income of RM2,000.

Launched on Sunday (Feb 26) the IPR will involve three segments - Inisiatif Usahawan Tani (Intan), Inisiatif Usahawan Makanan (Insan), and Inisiatif Operator Perkhidmatan (Ikhsan), aimed at overcoming the people’s daily economic problems.

Meanwhile, in the same debate session, Paya Besar MP Mohd Shahar Abdullah said the government needs to implement consistent and stable fiscal consolidation so the country is able to grow its revenue and settle its debt.

He said the World Bank recently urged Malaysia to seek other sources of revenue so that the country achieves fiscal sustainability with a better direction.

"The government can take the initiative to review the formulas for solving economic problems made by the previous government, whereby Malaysia was able to record impressive growth amid global economic headwinds at that time," he said.

- Bernama

Review civil servant salaries when country coffers improve - PM

 

The salaries and wages of civil servants will be discussed again when the country’s coffers improve and the nation’s fiscal deficit can be reduced, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

He said although he was personally not satisfied with the salary and wages of public servants compared to their duties and commitments, the rate of increment needed to be assessed based on the country’s finances.

“If our coffers improve, the deficit reduced, then we can (increase salary and wages), and now when I look at civil servants doing good work in the states, and the revenue increases, the process (of raising salary and wages) can be expedited.

“Just that for today I think it’s difficult, we will discuss it first,” he told a media conference after delivering the mandate to state and federal civil servants at the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu today.

Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs, and Special Functions) Armizan Mohd Ali.

Meanwhile, speaking at the ceremony to deliver the mandate, Anwar said the country faces a fiscal deficit of 5.6 percent and a debt of about RM1.5 trillion, which needed to be given priority to ensure the country’s prosperity, especially from an economic point of view.

“These few months, when our return of two billion, three billion, eight billion (ringgit) entered the country’s coffers, not even one sen leaked, if it leaks you all know the things I will do.

“If the country’s coffers are sufficient, civil servants can trust me that I will give priority to your fate… because your service and dedication deserve better salaries and wages,” he said.

As such, he called on all civil servants to practice integrity and good governance to ensure the country can be managed perfectly, in addition to reviving the country’s finances immediately.

“All of you do your work well because there is so much more that we have not resolved, for example, the issue of poverty, the Pan Borneo Highway... we will solve it for our people immediately,” he said.

Returning Labuan to Sabah

Asked about the call to return Labuan to Sabah at the press conference, Anwar said what’s important now is for the federal government to work with the Sabah government to revive the territory as a strong financial centre.

“It is not an issue (returning Labuan back to Sabah). The main issue is we see some sluggish development in Labuan, so we must take measures to try and revive Labuan,” he said.

Asked about the proposal to build a bridge between Sabah and Labuan, Anwar said it must be looked at from an economic point of view and, for now, the federal government’s stand is “to spend on what we are able to”.

On Jan 26, Labuan MP Suhaili Abd Rahman claimed the federal government was not serious about developing Labuan and the call for the territory to be returned to Sabah was not out of place considering the island’s economy had weakened greatly since becoming a federal territory about 38 years ago.

- Bernama

Minister casts doubt on survey showing low govt rating

 

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has cast doubt on a survey purportedly on the 100-day performance of the coalition government which was carried out by a firm and published by several media outlets.

He said the findings were unreliable and not reflective of the people’s views as the survey was conducted using a doubtful methodology based on an imbalanced sample of respondents.

He said the Communications and Digital Ministry (KKD) will meet with the media agencies concerned to get clarification on the survey, he said.

“Based on the feedback we received, various academic experts generally questioned the methodology of the survey. If that is their (academicians) stand, then we have to see their (survey organiser’s) motive.

“The survey was on 100 days of the government administration, but we have not reached 100 days yet. I will meet with the newspapers concerned to get clarification. Are they trying to do some promotion or deceive the people?” he said.

Fahmi was speaking to reporters after launching the mobile internet Prepaid Unity Package in Kuala Lumpur today.

Five local media outlets published the findings of the survey, conducted from Feb 6 to 16 in collaboration with a research firm.

The survey, among other things, found that only 27 percent of respondents were satisfied with the performance of the government in tackling issues on race relations and economic growth, while 26 percent felt the government handled the food supply issue well.

Criticism vs slander

Meanwhile, on Pendang MP Awang Hashim’s allegation that the government was preventing the opposition from criticising it, Fahmi said criticisms were allowed but slander was not acceptable.

“They are free to criticise but don’t resort to slandering, which undermines morality. As an MP from a party which champions Islam, he should know better the consequences of slander.

“To YB Pendang (Awang), I would urge him to perform self-reflection and if there is an issue… answer in court,” Fahmi added.

Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim sent a letter of demand to Awang regarding his claim that the prime minister practised selective prosecution and was more vindictive than former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

On another matter, Fahmi said KKD will meet with Tiktok Malaysia and Cyber Security Malaysia following security concerns raised by European Union (EU) policymakers.

He said KKD should consider this matter urgently if the TikTok application had security implications and involved official government secrets.

On Saturday, international media reports said two major policymaking institutions of the EU had banned TikTok from the phones of employees on cyber security concerns.

- Bernama