PUTRAJAYA, July 24 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has brushed off the upcoming “Turun Anwar” rally scheduled for this Saturday, saying calls for him to resign will not have any political effect as the next general election is still over two years away.
“This isn’t about political questions, because the next election is more than two years away. So calling for Anwar to step down won’t have any effect, don’t worry,” he said in his speech during the Finance Ministry’s monthly assembly here.
He was referring to the #TurunAnwar rally the opposition bloc Perikatan Nasional is organising this weekend.
Anwar also pushed back against critics who dismissed the RM100 one-off aid he announced yesterday, stressing that the assistance is meant for those in need.
“Yesterday, I announced several additional measures. In the political world, if some people feel offended, so be it. Some said, ‘Only RM100?’
“Well, if you’re earning RM20,000 or RM40,000 a month, RM100 might not mean much. But I know that when you go into the villages, it does mean something. This is an addition. When I hear some opposition MPs say, ‘Only RM100,’ I wonder, did they not read properly? And when I said they were short-sighted, they got upset.
“This is an increase from RM13 billion to RM15 billion. It’s on top of what has already been implemented. The same applies to fuel prices,” he added.
He cited the example of a low-income household of four, saying the aid could amount to an additional RM400 for the family.
“That’s on top of the STR and i-Sara support currently in place. Don’t belittle that,” he said.
Yesterday, Anwar announced a one-off cash aid of RM100 for all Malaysians aged 18 and above, as well as the lowering of the RON95 petrol price from RM2.05 to RM1.99 per litre once the fuel subsidy rationalisation is implemented later this year.
