Taking a leaf from best practices in the Penang government, Lim said cash aid to the needy was given out without levying burdensome taxes on its people.
“The BN government claiming that GST is required to hand out BR1M is an illogical statement. How is Penang managing to give cash aid to the seniors, students, the poor and more without GST?” Lim said in a press conference today.
Earlier, Lim opened the RM2.5 million S22 flood mitigation project, which involved the upgrading of monsoon drains in the Sungai Pinang district.
Later, Lim was asked by reporters on an alleged about-turn made by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the BR1M, Lim said he was not aware of it.
Mahathir who had said BR1M was a bribe, recently said he would “institutionalise” BR1M by calling it a “statutory aid”.
“Have I ever said BR1M was rasuah (bribe)? I have never said that. Mahathir has said that they will keep BR1M and get rid of GST.
“(Getting rid of GST) has been our stance all this while. We have been giving aid too all these while, so that cannot be wrong.
“If we are a good government, a corrupt-free government, then the people can get aid, and that is being practised in Penang,” Lim said.
Lim was also asked on Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali calling BR1M a bribe, and promising to discontinue the cash aid if Pakatan Harapan wrested Putrajaya in the next polls.
“I do not know about that. But the only question I have is this.
“A MCA Datuk in Pahang claims to have gotten BR1M. How can he get it? Only those who qualify and really need it should get it.
“But to give it to a MCA Datuk, is that not a bribe? How come a Datuk gets BR1M? Is that Pahang Datuk so poor that he needs cash aid? That is our question.”
In 2012, Bera MCA division chair Tang Hock Lok claimed to have received RM500 in BR1M.
Tang, who is a philantrophist, gave away the cash aid to a disabled villager in Triang, Pahang.
Azmin, in a press conference today said cash aid would be funnelled to the poor through an institutionalised system.