Hajiji (middle) presenting the Maxis food basket to one of the recipients as Bhaarathyraja (second right) and the other invited guests look on.
TUARAN: More than 300,000 Sabahans have benefitted from the second phase of the State Government’s Covid-19 assistance programme, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Hj Noor.
According to Hajiji, as of April 5, the State Government through its Bantuan Prihatin Covid-19 2.0 programme, has spent a total of RM97,371,900 on the 324,573 recipients of the RM300 one-off cash assistance.
He further disclosed that a total of 296,638 food baskets (about 93.93 per cent) have been distributed to the recipients in the same period.
This proved that the State Government is committed in helping those who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to get back on their feet, added Hajiji.
“Last year, the State Government had allocated a total of RM160 million for its Bantuan Prihatin Covid-19 programme, which was meant for those affected by the pandemic.
“The RM160 million allocation was an addition to the previous RM50 million allocation, which was approved by the State Government back in early October,” he said after officiating the Maxis Food Basket Charity Programme presentation ceremony here at Dewan Terbuka Masjid Haji Noor, Kampung Serusup, on Tuesday.
Among those present in the ceremony were Assistant State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai; Tuaran District Officer Sadan Husaain and the Head of Maxis Sabah Region, Bhaarathyraja Thanapal.
Separately, Hajiji had also thanked Maxis for its efforts in helping those who are in need during these trying times.
“Alhamdulillah, many companies and non-governmental organisations have come forward to lend their help. We hope that more will come,” he added.
It is understood that Maxis had allocated RM1 million to the GLC/GLIC Disaster Response Network (GDRN) in its “To Malaysia With Love” programme, which is aimed at helping the frontliners and those who were affected by Covid-19.
“During the first phase of the said campaign, Maxis had allocated a total of RM500,00 to the National Welfare Foundation (YKN) to provide 5,000 food baskets to those who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and flood.
Out of the total 5,000 food baskets, 2,000 were given to the B40 community in Sabah.
One thousand and seven hundred of these food baskets were distributed to the constituents in Kinarut, Kanibongan, Kota Belud, Papar, Penampang, Beaufort, Putatan, Tawau and Lahad Datu, starting from January last year.
The remaining 300 food baskets were distributed to the three villages in Tuaran namely Serusup, Tajau and Bolong Lama, during the event on Tuesday.