State govt always regards welfare aid as top priority, says Fatimah

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Fatimah presents an angpow to an elderly local Chinese, as (from right) Joni, Wong, Junaidi, Teng and others look on.

Fatimah presents an angpow to an elderly local Chinese, as (from right) Joni, Wong, Junaidi, Teng and others look on.

SARIKEI: Welfare assistance for those in need remains a priority for the state government, says Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah.

According to her, Sarawak is always the first among the states in Malaysia to raise the amount of various welfare aid slated for helping the needy, in line with the increase in the daily cost of living.

“There have been times when we increase the rate to double of what it was before, or even more,” she told reporters after the presentation of cash aid under the ‘Sejambak Kasih’ programme at the civic centre here yesterday.

Fatimah, who is Dalat assemblywoman, said the cash assistance under ‘Sejambak Kasih’ was given to eligible recipients in celebration of festive occasions like Christmas, Hari Raya, Gawai Dayak and the upcoming Chinese New Year.

“Even this (Sejambak Kasih) cash aid has been increased from RM50 previously to RM100.”

Fatimah also disclosed that last year, the topping up of assistance for 12,600 childcare cases and 6,059 cases involving people with disability who were unemployed had cost the state government additional RM7,715,550 and RM3,460,750, respectively.

In total, the government had disbursed RM190,715,550 for 57,047 aid recipients in Sarawak last year.

“Of this amount, RM9,049,050 was paid to 2,693 recipients in Sarikei Division.

“Immediate assistance to those affected by disasters like fires, landslides, strong winds, floods and drought has also been increased,” she added.

Elaborating on this immediate aid, Fatimah said the pocket money for victims had been increased from RM40 to RM100 per person and money for clothing from RM70 to RM200 per person.

“Effective this year, the immediate food assistance (for disaster victims) has been raised to RM50 per family member, from the previous RM30.

“Assistance for provision of mattresses, pillows, blankets and mats – all previously based on needs – has been revised to RM100 per head, while the assistance for utensils has been increased from RM100 to RM700 per family.”

Assistance for purchasing building materials had been changed from RM2,500 to RM5,000 per affected house or unit, she said, while assistance for operators of small businesses with monthly income of RM4,000 and below who were affected by the disasters had been raised to RM6,000 each from the previous RM3,000.

Meanwhile, Fatimah also stressed that disbursement of welfare assistance was not based on race, explaining that those registered as recipients were identified during the ongoing outreach programmes run by the Welfare Department and the volunteer-based organisation ‘Squad Sayang’.

In yesterday’s function, Fatimah gave away RM100 and a hamper worth RM50 to each of the 119 welfare aid recipients from the local Chinese community.

According to the minister, a total of 7,371 people across the state including 499 from this division are receiving assistance under ‘Sejambak Kasih’ in celebration of this year’s Chinese New Year.

Fatimah was accompanied by Sarikei Resident Mohamad Junaidi Mohidin, Sarikei District Council chairwoman Wong Zee Yeng, political secretary to chief minister Teng Ung Woo and state Welfare Department deputy director Joni Nuruddin.