The former finance minister refuted a claim by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob that DAP dominated the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, pointing out that only six of the 29 ministers in the PH Cabinet were from the party.
“Ismail should go back (to school) and learn how to count if he believes that six out of 29 Cabinet members equals dominating the Cabinet,” he said in a statement.
“Umno is playing on extremist sentiments to win the general election by blaming everything on DAP.”
Lim said another of Umno’s “false narratives” was the claim that DAP refused to implement subsidies or direct financial assistance. He pointed out that the PH government had set a RM2.08 ceiling on the price of RON95 petrol, with the price allowed to drop if global crude oil prices fell as well.
He also said former transport minister Loke Siew Fook, who is now the DAP secretary-general, was the one who proposed the reimbursement of RM555 million to the armed forces pension fund (LTAT), which it spent to take over the concession of the Automatic Enforcement System (AES) for driving offences as per a 2014 government directive.
Lim said DAP also initiated an 18% toll reduction for the North-South Expressway (PLUS) as the first step towards the complete abolition of PLUS tolls by the end of 2022.
“This is in contrast to Ismail’s government, which has failed to reduce toll rates by a single sen,” he said.
He said the proposal to inject RM45 billion to help the needy and SMEs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, as per the memorandum of understanding PH signed with Ismail’s government, was first mooted by DAP.
He said most of the aid, which has since been renamed Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia, has been received by businesses and citizens.
Another “classic case” of Umno distorting facts and figures, he said, was PH’s successful bailout of the troubled Tabung Haji after its financial irregularities, a move Lim said he supported as then finance minister.
“However, after Umno returned to power through the back door in the Sheraton Move, they did not make any comment when their own government’s auditor-general confirmed that the timely steps taken by PH had saved Tabung Haji from financial problems.”