Minister Rina Harun Tells People To Ignore The 'Do Not Donate To Government' Campaign

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According to Rina, such campaigns are inappropriate as the country is currently dealing with a disaster.

The priority is to ensure that all resources are utilised to help the flood victims and that the funds would reach the target groups, a Bernama report stated the Minister as saying yesterday, 23 December.

"The money we raise (through disaster relief fund) will be given to the people," Rina told reporters after visiting the temporary flood relief centre (PPS) at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kota Warisan.

The statement, which many have misidentified as a hashtag, is an organic social media campaign and a direct result of people's frustration against the government's lacklustre response to the flood.

In Selangor and Pahang, the death toll has risen to 39 individuals as of Thursday, 23 December.

More than 60,000 people across the country have been displaced, with thousands still stranded.

As of yesterday, 68,341 flood victims from 18,080 families have been recorded at 396 relief centres (PPS) in seven states, with Pahang being the most-affected state at the time.

At the core of the campaign lies the lack of trust people have in the government.

Many said that they do not have faith that their donations will be channelled properly.

Responding to the sentiment, Rina said that there is no need for such campaigns as it doesn't matter who is raising the money as long as the recipients' benefit and the government's aims are achieved.

While the "Do Not Donate To Government" campaign discourages people from giving money to the government's flood relief fund, it does encourage donors to contribute directly to NGOs they trust.

As of Friday, 24 December, the campaign is still going strong with over 40,000 tweets recorded.

She said that her appearance should not be an issue.

According to Rina, she went there in high heels because she had earlier attended an event at MITEC in Kuala Lumpur and left immediately after Muhyiddin Yassin had delivered his speech on Sunday.

"While at the event, I received messages about flood-affected areas and felt I needed to go to the ground to gauge the situation. I changed my baju kurung to pants and blouse but in the rush did not have time to change my shoes. What is important is my presence at the location is to ensure their welfare is looked after and see what else I can do to help them (flood victims)," she added.