Sarawak DAP reps to donate RM51,000 to THM
KUCHING: Sarawak DAP elected representatives have pledged to donate around RM51,000 to Tabung Harapan Malaysia (THM).
The donation pledge was announced yesterday by its chairman Chong Chieng Jen who pointed out that the party’s decision came following the national call to contribute to the national coffer following the revelation of the huge debt inccurred by the previous Barisan Nasional ( BN) federal government.
“We have decided that all of us will be contributing to Tabung Harapan Malaysia with each member of parliament ( MP) contributing a minimum of RM5,000 whereas the state elected representatives will contribute a minimum of RM3,000 each,” he told a press conference at the party’s headquarters here.
The state DAP currently has six MPs and seven assemblymen.
Chong, who will be contributing a minimum of RM8,000 in view of his position as Stampin MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman, said it is only right for the state DAP elected representatives to contribute part of their salaries to the fund.
“We are also very heartened that many members of the public have indicated that they have already contributed to THM. This is a very positive change since the formation of the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government and we thank them for their contributions.”
This sincere act by the people, he said, showed the positive change of attitude as well as the show of patriotism from citizens.
“Under the previous administration, the government then had forced people to pay money to the government by resorting to all sorts of tactics.
“But after the change of government, the rakyat can see that there will be proper management of public fund and as such, they willingly contribute to the national coffer,” he remarked.
The Ministry of Finance announced on its webite that THM has collected more than RM56 million as of Monday (June 11).
The fund, which is managed by the ministry, was set up by the government to provide a channel for the public to lend their support to the government after the nation’s debt reached RM1 trillion.
Also present at the press conference were Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii and Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong.