PETALING JAYA, May 29 — The attempt by some Malaysians to raise funds for the purpose of paying down the national debt is indicative of the optimism sweeping the country after the 14th general election, said Damansara MP Tony Pua.

The DAP national publicity secretary and Finance Ministry special officer also praised Malaysians for not losing heart despite learning that the previous Barisan Nasional left the government with over RM1 trillion in liabilities.

“There was anger, but there wasn’t despair,” Pua told his constituents in his Wesak Day message after attending a celebration for the Buddhist festival here today.

“You could be giving up, thinking the country is gone. But we didn’t see that, what we saw were Malaysians uniting. People wanted to donate to the government,” he added.

Pua said that Malaysians used to “curse” the government, but were now willing to voluntarily dip into their own pockets to help out the administration.

“This is a fantastic start for a new Malaysia,” he said.

Pakatan Harapan claimed a historic victory at the 14th general election, handing Barisan Nasional its first and only defeat in the country’s history.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad previously announced that Malaysia’s debt and liabilities has crossed RM 1 trillion under the previous administration of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

This was later confirmed by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

https://www.malaymail.com/s/1635972/mp-lauds-malaysians-bid-to-pay-down-national-debt-as-fantastic-reboot-for-c