Those registered under eKasih to receive aid by end of June
MIRI: All those whose names are registered under the eKasih system should receive their welfare assistance by end of this month.
According to Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, FamilyandChildhoodDevelopment Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, only 45 out of the 419 names registered under eKasih are yet to have their status confirmed in the system.
“In one of our Key Performance Indicators ( KPIs) for the state’s poverty eradication focus group, is to ensure that everybody under the poor category would receive help from the government.
“We have retrieved 419 names from the eKasih system; it is our target that each and every one of them would receive assistance by end of June,” she spoke at the ‘Sejambak Kasih Hari Raya Aidlfitri’ programme hosted by Dynasty Hotel here yesterday.
On the 45 names without confirmed status in the system, Fatimah said there were several factors contributing to this problem.
“Some (individuals) have problems with their personal documents, whereby their IC (identification card) numbers are still using the old format – one that began with ‘ K’; some recipients had passed away; some cannot be traced of their whereabouts by the district officers; and some are not reachable at all due to the bad condition of the roads,” she said, adding that are also cases of the Penans who always move around, which further complicates the process of locating them.
“Whatever the case is, we will try our best to look for them and ensure that they receive the aid from the government. It is only after all possible means have been done but the recipients are still not found, would the names be removed from the system,” she added.
However, she said help must reach those with genuine cases one way or another – these include the recipients who live in the remote pockets of the rural areas, or those hard to reach areas; and they have received any aid from the government.”
Some 150 individuals registered under the state Welfare Department (JKMS) received their Raya assistance, each comprising RM100 and a hamper worth RM50.
Additionally, the hotel also presented each of the recipients with a hamper worth RM150.
Moreover, Fatimah disclosed that a total of 31,706 individuals from across the state had received special contributions from JKMS in conjunction with Gawai.
On the department’s monthly welfare aid, the minister said JKMS had disbursed RM79,465,400 to 56,805 recipients in Sarawak from January to May this year and of the total, 4,097 recipients from Miri received a total of RM6,154,950.
“Every year, the number of recipients increases – there were 56,621 in 2015, 57,047 in 2016, and 56,805 this year.”
On another matter, Fatimah also encouraged the aid recipients to set up their own business as their
In one of our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the state’s poverty eradication focus group, is to ensure that everybody under the poor category would receive help from the government. We have retrieved 419 names from the eKasih system; it is our target that each and every one of them would receive assistance by end of June. Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister
means to move out of poverty cycle.
“There are government grants available for them to start their own business, so that they would not need to continue relying on welfare aid,” she said.
Adding on, Fatimah reiterated the state government’s move to revise the poverty income line from the previous RM830 to RM990, in view of the high cost of living.
“We have also improved the disaster aid schemes for Sarawak in 2017. Beginning January 2017, the added-value provided by the state government includes 100 per cent increase in rate for the disaster victims aid, increase in urgently needed items, and also housing aid not exceeding RM5,000 a year if necessary,” she said.
On the department’s collaboration with Dynasty Hotel here, she said the ‘Sejambak Kasih Hari Raya Aidlfitri’ programme has been running for 15 years, and it is part of the hotel’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) to help those in need.
This July 9, Dynasty Hotel will hold its 14th annual charity run.
The event yesterday was also attended by Assistant Minister of Women, Family and Childhood
Development Rosey Yunus, Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau, Miri Resident Sherrina Husaini, Dynasty Hotel managing director Tony Pui and Miri deputy police chief Supt Stanley Jonathan Ringgit.