Riot (right) addresses the audience at Tebakang Dayak.
SERIAN: Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem has chided certain people who are against 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) cash assistance from the government, saying they do not understand the sufferings of the poor.
“To those who earn more than RM3,000 a month or those who receive up to RM10,000 or more a month, of course the BR1M cash assistance looks so little in comparison.
“But to farmers, fishermen, labourers, even some government servants in the lower categories, they wait anxiously for it, which is why they form long queues for hours in the bank to get their hands on it,” he said when speaking at a ‘Leader Meets the People’ programme in Tebakang Dayak about 14km from here on Saturday night.
The six-term Serian MP said that coming from a poor background whose parents were padi farmers, he knew how hard it could be for the majority of rural folks, farmers, labourers and street sweepers to live without extra income.
He said it was this group of people that the government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was trying to help by giving out BR1M.
Riot praised Najib, describing him as a ‘very brave leader who feels for low income Malaysians’.
He said Najib started BR1M because he wanted low income Malaysians to know that his government understood their financial burden at certain times of the year.
It was for this reason that BR1M payouts were made when the new school year opens or when celebrations were approaching.
Riot poses with some folk of Kampung Mujat just before the start of the programme.
Riot said besides BR1M, the government also ensured that prices of goods were not irresponsibly raised by traders when the people most needed them, such as during major festivals.
He advised those who thought they were eligible for BR1M but did not get it, or had not registered to be recipient, to go to the relevant authorities for assistance.
He believed many more people in Serian Division were eligible for BR1M than the 37,000 already approved.
Meanwhile, at a similar programme at Kampung Mujat some 60 km from here, Riot said BR1M deserved to be continued despite it being belittled by some people.
“There are those who belittled the government for giving out BR1M.
“But don’t be surprised, these people are merely pretending because for all you know, their spouses, children and elderly parents are recipients of BR1M,” he said.
He said the government was always looking at ways and means to lighten the burden of the people.
“My advice is for you to continue to support Barisan Nasional and the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg at the state level and the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the federal level.
“Your interest is best served by the BN and these two leaders,” Riot assured.
On another matter, Riot also called on all village development and security committees to be sensitive to the needs of the people under them.
He regretted that there were some villages where the KKKs acted like provocateurs and prevented minor development projects from being carried out smoothly.