Unity govt listens to the people's grouses, says Rafizi

KUALA LUMPUR - Allegations that the government did not listen to the grouses of the people on the rising cost of living after the 15th general election (GE15) as said by Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, are untrue.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said statements issued by Azmin cannot be used as a yardstick to assess the current performance of the Unity Government.

"When he (Azmin) was a minister and dealing with the hardships of the people, the Movement Control Order, and so on, not only did he not listen to people's complaints, he even closed the comment section on social media, no one could comment.

"If the view brought out by Azmin is that the government does not listen to the people's problems, I think we will continue to follow this closely," he said at the Pandan Parliament's Aidilfitri Open House Event on Sunday.

This was following Azmin's statement on Saturday, which claimed that the people complained when the Unity Government was unable to solve the cost of living issue faced by the people.

Rafizi, when asked if the current performance of the government will affect the vote in the upcoming state polls, said that the matter will be known only after the elections.

"Although it is the right of the opposition or anyone to raise issues, the government hears the people's complaints.

"I have closely followed the people's sentiments on the economy since 2016, and every month I measure the people's economic position through a questionnaire.

"So far, the sentiment of the people is gradually positive and even better compared to the previous government. There has been an increase from 30 to 41 per cent now," he said.