KUALA LUMPUR: Prominent economist and member of the Council of Eminent Persons, Professor Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram today defended the newly-launched Tabung Harapan Malaysia (Malaysian Hope Fund). He said this when asked on comments on social media by detractors calling the fund a desperate attempt by the Pakatan Harapan government to settle the national debt. “I think it’s about patriotism,” he told reporters when met outside the Ilham Tower, where meetings of the Council of Eminent Persons have been held daily. The fund, which has so far garnered over RM7 million, was set up for the public to donate, in light of a revelation that the national debt had surpassed the RM1 trillion mark. The initiative was first started by a young activist and law graduate Shazarina Bakti who initiated a fundraising page to crowdfund to reduce the nation’s debt one week before Tabung Harapan Malaysia was officially launched.

Source: New Strait Times June 01, 2018 06:56 UTC