BR1M reform needed to genuinely benefit the poor – MP

KUCHING: Current cash handout schemes such as the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) need to be reformed to better reduce inequality so that the poor can genuinely benefit from it.

According to Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, this would also enable the recipients to become self-sufficient and be able to support themselves in the long run.

“In response to the statement made by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that there may be plans to reduce BR1M and slowly wean it out, I strongly urge the government to study this proposal properly with more consultation and to always act on the compassionate side of things, especially in terms of helping those who are really in need.

“This (phasing out BR1M) should not be done in haste and any decision must always uphold the interest of the people,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.

Though the prime minister had announced that Putrajaya would phase out payouts of BR1M, which has since been renamed by PH as `Bantuan Sara Hidup’, before discontinuing it, Dr Yii pointed out that this does not mean that there will no longer be aid for the poor.

“There will be a new focus and the new initiative is to empower the people in order for them increase their economic power and earning abilities to help ease their cost of living.”

He said the government is constantly looking into ways to uplift the economy as well as create jobs and better the nation’s general income rate to ensure that the people would not be too dependent on aid.

“On top of that, any kind of aid should not be used as `bait’ for political votes but rather truly with the value of helping those in need. As the country progresses, the natural tendency is to gradually move away from providing aid rather than to have more of them which will reflect the income level of the people.

“It is also important that the changes to the current system must ensure that existing recipients especially those in need like the elderly and disabled are not worse off after it.”

With that being said, Dr Yii expressed that it is also crucial for the government to review BR1M as it has been opened to abuse all these years in which there were cases that those in need of the assistance did not receive the aid while others who may be in better economic condition were benefitting from it.

He said there have been reports that there were some who worked in countries like Singapore or Australia and were getting a decent salary there, had applied for BR1M and were approved.

He explained that this was because there were no records of these individuals’ income since they did not pay income tax or contribute the Employees Provident Fund in Malaysia, thus making them `eligible’ to receive BR1M.