Govt has ‘political will’ to allow i-Citra scheme extension, says Ahmad Zahid

PETALING JAYA: The government has the political will to allow the extension of the i-Citra scheme for the people, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The Umno president urged the government not to stop the initiative but instead, listen to the pleas of the people.

“There are people who have just been affected by floods, landslides or those affected by the movement control order and they need money to improve their situation.

“If the Finance Minister advises the government otherwise, the Cabinet should scrutinise it in depth first.

“There must be ‘political will’ because the people who have just been affected or have been affected for a long time need money to improve their situation.

“Prior to this, the same minister gave various reasons, but it was proven that it could be done,” he said in a Facebook post on Thursday (Dec 30).

Ahmad Zahid added that based on the response on social media, people would rather use their own funds than taking loans.

"They are not ready to go into debt, let alone add on to their existing debt.

“Some are having a difficult time and are unable to pay existing debts.

“A period of six months or a year of deferment of repayment still means that they have added to the debt burden.

“Don't change like digging a hole to close a hole by borrowing money to pay off debts.

"Some people want the addition of the i-Citra scheme to reduce their debt burden.

“Therefore, do not ignore the needs of the people because where there is a will, there's a way," he said.

However, he said that if there was no other option, people would have to make the choice to increase their debt by taking loans.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said that the government has no intention at the moment to allow those hit by floods to make Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals under the i-Citra scheme.

He said there was no need for EPF withdrawals as the government was offering various other forms of financial assistance to individuals and businesses to recover from the floods.