Anwar trying to address public dissatisfaction ahead of rally, says opposition
PETALING JAYA : Opposition members have criticised Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim over his announcement earlier today of the RM100 one-off cash aid for all Malaysians, calling it an attempt to address public dissatisfaction ahead of the anti-Anwar rally on Saturday.
At a press conference at the Muda office today, acting party president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz said the announcement gave the impression that Anwar was worried about the upcoming rally.
'All these announcements are being made to placate the people, but it's not working,' she said.
Amira said while her party was not part of the rally's organising body, it would not stop its members from attending it.
She also criticised chief secretary to the government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar for warning civil servants not to attend the rally, saying public assembly was the right of all Malaysians under the Federal Constitution.
'If they do join the rally on Saturday, and action is taken against them, Muda is fully prepared to offer legal assistance for those being investigated for participating in the rally,' she said.
Separately, PAS information chief Fadhli Shaari accused Anwar of 'urgently' announcing the RM100 aid, instead of in the lead-up to Budget 2026, to 'dampen rising public anger'.
'Only the RM100 aid for all adult Malaysians (worth a total of RM2 billion) seemed appealing. Other than that, it was just a typical announcement that could have been made anytime,' he said in a Facebook post.
Fadhli said the RM2 billion in cash aid 'means nothing compared with the RM7.5 billion saved from the targeted diesel subsidies'.
'There's no long-term impact. It was just a typical announcement. We march, no matter what! See you in Kuala Lumpur on July 26,' he said.
In a special telecast this morning, Anwar said the cash aid was for all Malaysians aged 18 and above under the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah aid initiative.
He said the one-off payment, which would be channelled through the MyKad, was in conjunction with the National Day celebration and could be used between Aug 31 and Dec 31 to purchase basic necessities from over 4,100 outlets.
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