Govt willing to give opposition ‘lectures’ on economy to avoid misinformation

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says he is willing to provide the opposition with ‘lectures’ by the second finance minister and the treasury secretary-general on the state of the economy. (Bernama pic)

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took a swipe at the opposition today, saying the government is willing to arrange for lectures on the state of the economy to avoid the propagation of misleading information to the public.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, accused the opposition of unfairly criticising government initiatives through misinformation when campaigning for the upcoming Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.

This, he said, included criticism received following the recent announcement of a pay hike of more than 13% for civil servants.

Anwar said he was willing to make second finance minister Amir Hamzah Azizan and treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican available to educate the opposition on the matter.

“This is to avoid the opposition confusing the public with inaccurate criticism,” he said in a speech at the finance ministry’s monthly assembly.

Anwar also called on the opposition not to belittle the government’s efforts.

“The process has been hard. I have pondered over it for months and attended many meetings to ensure that the salary increments are meaningful.”

On Labour Day, Anwar said the upcoming increment would be the highest ever given to civil servants, surpassing a previous pay hike of 13%.

He said the wage increase would be implemented from December this year with more than RM10 billion allocated for the purpose.

However, critics, including Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, said the wage increase was nothing to shout about, and warned that it might not be passed in the Dewan Rakyat.

Responding to concerns about the country’s financial ability to implement the salary hike, Anwar said the increments were finalised only after thorough preparation.

“We made the announcements only after performing the necessary groundwork. We took into account all sources and income and expected outcomes,” he said.

“This is not a three- or four-year plan. We are confident the country’s income will rise as the quality of our civil service improves.”