In his address to the nation last night, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said this money would be directed to the Crisis Trust Fund for Covid-19-related expenditure.

“It should not just be their salaries, it must include their various allowances and entertainment allowances, which are often higher and surpass their salaries,” Mohamad said in a Facebook post.

“Leadership by example in this critical time of crisis is a must, that should have been displayed long ago.”

Mohamad, often referred to as Tok Mat, also said that while the government’s continuation of the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat stimulus measure was a welcome form of aid, it could have been improved to be more targeted.

“Perhaps this strategy could be improved by ensuring the most affected receive more help. Equity in distribution does not mean that everyone gets equal assistance. Those in greater need deserve more,” he said.

Under the package detailed last night, B40 households are eligible to receive between RM100 and RM500 depending on their total earnings.

On the government’s commitment to ramp up spending to galvanise the healthcare system, Mohamad said this expenditure must be done in a transparent and efficient way.

“Recognising the government’s fiscal constraints, it is important that every penny allocated to increase the capacity of the public health sector is utilised transparently and has the best impact.

“We must learn our lesson from the development of the vaccination registration system which, although large, does not work well and poses an inconvenience to the people.”