New Year babies receive ADAM50 certificate
KOTA KINABALU: Ten New Year babies born in Sabah at the Likas Hospital received the Amanah Dana Anak Malaysia 2050 (ADAM50) certificate as promised by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak when tabling the Budget 2018 in Parliament recently.
They received the certificate from Pemodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) Human Capital Division senior vice-president Aida Md Daud on Monday.
Couple Zamry Yusin, 25, and Hawieland Gunsanad, 18, from Kota Belud described the incentive as a special gift for their little girl born at 2.23 am and weighing only 1.74kg.
While expressing his gratitude to the government, Zamry said the incentive would be a platform to ensure that his first born would have sufficient savings for her future.
“This savings will definitely help if we ever had financial difficulty to support her in pursuing tertiary education. So thank you to the government,” he said.
Assistant Resources and Information Technology Development Minister Datuk Hamisa Samat also presented the ADAM50 incentive to three babies born at the Tawau General Hospital on New Year day. She advised parents to utilize the incentive to make a financial plan to ensure the future of their children, especially in the event of unforeseen misfortune such as death.
Meanwhile, Keningau ASNB Branch manager Molineh Michael presented the certificate to six other babies born between 1.32 am and 9.01 am at the Keningau Hospital on Monday.
ADAM50 is a new programme introduced by the Government in collaboration with PNB for all Malaysian babies born between Jan 1, 2018, and Dec 31, 2022.
The main objective of ADAM50 is to promote early savings and a culture of investment among Malaysians since their childhood, whereby the Government would give 200 free incentive units as initial capital to be credited into the Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account for Bumiputera babies or Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS1M) for non-bumiputera babies when they register at Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB) branches or appointed agents.
In Sarawak, 12 New Year’s babies born between midnight on Monday night and 11 am on Monday at the Sarawak General Hospital received the ADAM50 certificate and hampers presented by ASNB Agent Management & Customer Relation Department vice-president Mohd Yusri Surip in a simple ceremony at the hospital.
Zelina Abu Hassim, 39, mother of the first baby born at 12.37 am, said she felt so lucky to receive the newly-introduced incentive.
She said it was indeed a good initiative taken by the government and that she hoped more initiatives would be introduced to help the future generation.
The mother of six said the RM200 worth free units of ASNB given by the government also came as a motivation for her to invest more in ASNB as a preparation for her son to pursue tertiary education when he reached the age of 18.
Meanwhile, eight New Year’s babies born at the Kuala Lumpur Maternity Hospital (HBKL) as at noon on Monday received their respective ADAM50 certificate.
PNB Group President and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said the certificates were also presented to all newborn babies at 30 locations nationwide on Monday.
“We really hope that all parents and guardians of the recipients would benefit from the ADAM50 initiative introduced by the government with the cooperation of the PNB,” he told reporters after presenting the certificates to the parents of the babies at the hospital here.
However, Abdul Rahman said the free units and all dividends gained from it could only be withdrawn when the child reached the age of 18.
In Selangor, five babies born between 12.45 am and 7.15 am at the Shah Alam Hospital here on Monday also received their respective ADAM50 certificates.
One of the mother, Wan Ruzana Saarani, 25, said without the incentive, she and her husband might take a while to open a savings account for their newborn daughter.
“Now that she has the ASNB account, we just have to top up the amount,” she told reporters at the hospital.
The certificate was presented by ASNB Sales and Channel Management Department vice president Mohd Yazid Jali and HSA director Datin Dr Hasni Hanapi.
In Negeri Sembilan, 10 healthy babies, five of whom are boys, born at the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital (HTJ) since after midnight on Monday night also received their ADAM50 certificates.
HTJ director Dr Ariffin Mohamad said the first of the babies was born at 1.46 am and the last of them was delivered at 9.02 am.
Apart from the certificate, the babies also received hampers presented by Seremban ASNB Branch Manager Andi Rawzi Md Rawi.
In Pahang, 10 babies born on New Year’s Day at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan became among the first recipients of the ADAM50 incentive in the state.
The ADAM50 certificates for the six newborn boys and four newborn girls were presented by Kuantan PNB Branch Manager Zamri Musa at the hospital on Monday.
Couple Zahratul Ardiah Jamil, 23, and Muhamad Nizam Radzuan, 22, who welcomed their second child, a girl weighing 3kg, said they were grateful to the government for introducing the incentive which they described as a proof of government’s concern about the future generation.
In Penang, the ADAM50 certificate was presented by ASNB chief executive officer Mohammad Hussin to two baby boys born at the Penang Hospital on Monday.
Speaking to reporters after receiving the certificate, Fazilawati Mat Saad, 34, who delivered her son at 1.21 am, said she was happy for her son to receive the incentive.
“My initial due date is on Jan 4. But, I’m happy nonetheless to have delivered my third child on New Year’s Day and to be among the first to receive this certificate,” she said.
In Perlis, five New Year’s babies born at the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital in Kangar have also received their respective ADAM50 certificates.
Perlis Health director Dr Zaini Hussin said the babies, two of who are girls, were born between 12.09 am and 8.11 am.
All of them are in good condition, he said after presenting the certificates to the parents.
In Perak, 10 newborn babies received their ADAM50 certificates and accompanying gifts from the Perak ASNB representative at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital.
A mother, Rozilawati Aziz, 39, said she was happy that her dream to have a New Year’s baby came true when she delivered her baby girl at 2.30 am today despite being scheduled to deliver two days earlier.
“Alhamdulillah, my dream came true. My initial due date was on Dec 30 last year, but I’m glad my baby decided to stay in my womb a little longer,” she said.
While thanking the government and the PNB for the incentive, Rozilawati also said she would make sure that the free units in her daughter’s ASNB account would be topped up every month so that her daughter could use it to pursue her studies in the future.
In Putrajaya, civil servant Herlina Hasril, 33, who delivered her baby boy at 7.35 am today at the Putrajaya Hospital here, appeared happy and excited to be among the first recipients of the ADAM50 certificate.
She said she would definitely keep the RM200 worth of free units of ASNB and top up the amount from time to time as an investment for her second child’s education.
”I’m also planning to open a similar ASNB account for my first child,” she said.
Herlina’s baby was among the 10 babies born in Putrajaya Hospital who received the ADAM50 certificate presented by ASNB Trust Unit Operation and Record Management Division vice president Mohd Azuddin Sham Abdullah on Monday.
In Johor, PNB Group deputy president and chief operating officer Datuk Idris Kechot presented the certificate to the parents of 10 selected babies born today at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) in Johor Bahru.
Also present were Johor Health deputy director Dr Izam Suleiman dan HSA director Dr Aman Rabu.
According to Izam, 34 births were recorded in the state between midnight and 8 am on Monday.
“At HSA alone, 21 babies were born between midnight last night and 11 am today,” he said.