PM: Majority of folk still want BR1M
MalaysiaKini.com
Nov 23, 2014

A majority of Malaysians still want the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) aid, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said in response to criticisms from former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad regarding the programme.

In an interview with Mingguan Malaysia today, Najib said that he was willing to “reconsider” BR1M if people reject the programme, but said that from his visits around the country, most people still want BR1M.

“If there is a better method than BR1M (for targeted subsidies), then I will be willing to consider,” he said.

“I will continue doing what I feel is the best for country and the party,” he added.

“If many people say they don’t support BR1M, then I will review,” he said.

He described BR1M as the best solution to give “targeted subsidies” as opposed to normal subsidies, which he said were wasteful in nature.

“I want to reduce bulk subsidies to avoid wastage. But this is not a continuous policy. One day, when the people’s income has increased, they don’t need BR1M any more,” he said.

He also stressed that he did not find criticisms from Mahathir and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin to his policies to be a worrying aspect.

“If the situation did not trigger an internal crisis in the party, I just consider this as a difference of opinion on government policies,” he said.

“Until now, Umno members have not take any action to oppose the party leadership as such,” he added.

Copyright © 1999-2012 Mkini Dotcom Sdn. Bhd	
Sourcehttp: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/281317