“You need to give them time, because the damage is too much. There is too much wastage, leakage, and corruption… it is too phenomenal,” he said at a ceramah last night.

He said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government had to look into long-term plans to prosper the country, adding that improvements could not be a piecemeal affair.

Some of the challenges for PH now were to tackle the rising income gap between the rich and the poor, and to embark on development programmes that benefited the people, he added. Taxes should also be reduced, and urban poverty addressed.

“It’s not about topping up BR1M. It’s about restructuring the economy so that Malaysians of all races can benefit. That is of paramount importance,” he said.

Giving the example of prison guards, he said they had told him that they were now looking for ways to reduce their daily expenses, to the point of opting for cheaper diapers and lower grade milk formula for their children.

This was why the country’s development agenda should focus on improving the economy, he said, so that its positive effects are felt by all.