PUTRAJAYA should give struggling families RM1,000 monthly spending money to help with household expenses during the Covid-19 crisis, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

The former finance minister said the Perikatan Nasional government should not lend aid in one-off payments such as that offered in the Prihatin package but focus on easing the hardship of the people on a monthly basis.

“The PN government has forgotten the plight of the people who are in dire straits. We need to have a radicalised economic situation. We should not be too tied down with the old ways. We need to save the people and their jobs. This is a fight for the survival of Malaysians.

“The public does not need one-off payments like Prihatin but something monthly to support their families… at least the RM1,000 that was promised by the prime minister,” Lim said in a forum with the National Professors Council.

Prime Minister Muyiddin Yassin in December said the Social Welfare Department should increase monthly assistance payments to RM1,000.

Lim also criticised the RM330 billion national budget as being too conservative.

“Budget 2021 was to save. It was an austerity budget. This cannot be, we are having a crisis now. We need to spend bravely.”

The Bagan MP said banks must ease their lending conditions as well extend the moratorium on repayment for failing businesses.

Lim also was concerned about the state of the country’s education system that has struggled to cope with digitalisation.

“The government should use this opportunity to buy laptops for all students so they have an alternative to study. 

“There are countries that are less well off than us who are using this system, like Vietnam and some parts of Indonesia. We should not be left behind.” – February 4, 2021.