Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng receives a mock cheque for Tabung Harapan Malaysia at the Ministry of Finance in Putrajaya May 31, 2018. — Picture by Azinuddin Ghazali

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — A Malaysian crowdfunding initiative to help the government pay its debt has collected over RM18 million so far, according to an official update by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) today.

According to the MoF, Tabung Harapan Malaysia has garnered RM18,608,925.36 as of 3pm today.

In a statement, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the amount so far is a 163 per cent increase compared to the RM7,075,508.79 raised yesterday.

Lim warned Malaysians not to fall prey to a viral poster on social media bearing a fake account number, supposedly of Tabung Harapan.

He pointed out that the account was different from the official Maybank account for the fund (A/C 566010626452) opened under the name “Tabung Harapan Malaysia”.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the crowdfund was formed in response to Malaysians’ concerns over the economic mismanagement by the former Barisan Nasional government, thanking them for their “patriotic move” to donate to the government.

The account will remain open until the government manages to hit a sizeable target, as the national debt is currently at RM1 trillion.

Tax exemptions will also be given to all who donate to the cause, including companies, Lim said yesterday, adding that there will be no cap on the limit.