The first meeting of the Economic Action Council (EAC), chaired by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, started at 6pm at Perdana Putra in Putrajaya today.

The meeting is to deliberate on three working papers, two of which are on efforts to address the rising cost of living, that will be tabled by the Economic Affairs and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs ministries.

The Economic Affairs Ministry will also be tabling a paper on the setting up of the B40 Facilitation Fund which will use social entrepreneurship as the platform to raise the living standard of B40 households.

B40 refers to the 40 percent of the population who are in the lower income bracket.

The setting up the EAC was announced by the Prime Minister’s Office on Feb 11 to zero in and make decisions on economic and financial matters as well as on welfare of the people.

Chaired by the Prime Minister, others in the 16-strong council are as follows:

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng
Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali
International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking
Works Minister Baru Bian
Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister Muhammed Abdul Khalid
former International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz
Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) chairperson Zeti Akhtar Aziz
Council of Eminent Persons member Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Public Bank managing director Tay Ah Lek
Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) chairperson Hasnita Hashim
Bursa Malaysia chairman Shireen Ann Zaharah Muhiudeen;
Asean Business Advisory Council Malaysia chaiperson Mohd Munir Abdul Majid
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) CEO Paul Selvaraj
Lawyer Bah Tony @ Amani William Hunt Abdullah
Institut Masa Depan Malaysia (Masa) board of trustees member Nizam Mahshar.

- Bernama