BR1M: Tun M refuses to admit mistake

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad appears to be refusing to admit his mistake although he had changed his stand on the payment of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) which he had previously labeled as bribery and illegal.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz said this was because Dr Mahathir's statement wanting to retain BR1M if the opposition coalition were to win the next general election clearly showed that BR1M had benefited the people.

"We are very sad when Tun M previously criticised BR1M to the extent of causing confusion among the people," he said after attending the investiture at the Istana Anak Bukit, here today.

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Tun Dr Mahathir was reported to have issued the statement at the official launching of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam, yesterday.

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Othman said BR1M was actually not a form of bribe but a form of assistance given to the people who needed aid, similar to the compassionate payment given by Felda to its project settlers and the Pre-School Assistance given by the Education Ministry to parents.

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Thus, he advised BR1M recipients to be wise in utilising the aid received by investing them in appropriate agencies in order to earn income and not to be wasteful. -BERNAMA