PROMINENT economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram has dismissed critics of the Tabung Harapan fund set up by Putrajaya, saying that those wanting to contribute money to the new administration are doing so as an act of patriotism.

Jomo was asked to comment on criticisms that the government’s decision to set up the fund to pay off the country’s debt was a desperate move.

“I think it’s about patriotism,” he told reporters at Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur following a meeting of the Council of Eminent Persons, in which he is a member.

Jomo was named as a member of the council alongside former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, billionaire Robert Kuok, former central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz and former Petronas chief executive Hassan Merican.

On Wednesday, the government announced that Malaysians who wanted to donate to help pay the country’s RM1 trillion debt could channel their contributions through the official fund.

The move followed suggestions made on social media by Malaysians, who amidst the euphoria after Pakatan Harapan’s win at the May 9 polls wanted to help offset the government’s huge debt.

As of yesterday, more than RM7 million had been collected in the fund.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that all donations are tax deductible, adding that the government will announce the total amount collected at 3pm every day. – June 1, 2018.