PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has approved a RM15 million allocation to be given as advance to women awaiting the Syariah Court’s decision on the quantum of alimony.Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Maj-Gen (R) Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom said the allocation was aimed at helping women who were undergoing divorce proceedings and did not receive financial support from the husbands.
“Sometimes, the husbands refuse to pay the alimony, so long as the case was not resolved by the court. So, we are giving this aid to the women and their children to help them with their daily expenses.”
He said this after attending a monthly assembly for agencies entrusted under his care yesterday.
Jamil Khir said the Syariah Judiciary Department was in the midst of distributing the allocation to the states and the payments were expected to be made soon.
Earlier in his speech, Jamil Khir said the government was trying to discuss with the Saudi Arabian government on the possibility of increasing the haj quota for Malaysia, at least for the next three or four years, to reduce the waiting list.
At present, he said, the haj quota had been filled up to the year 2020.
The minister said one of his Key Performance Index for this year was to increase the number of haj registration for those aged 50 and below.
“Right now, we (Pilgrims Fund Board) have 4.7 million members. We want, not only an increase in the number, but also an increase in our capability to generate dividend and bonus for our depositors and pilgrims,” he added. — Bernama