Programme helps parents cut cost
People’s Housing Project event eases families’ back-to-school burden
KUALA LUMPUR: Several school-aged children were having their hair cut while their mothers were getting manicures.
This was not a scene in a salon but in the hall of the Jelatek People’s Housing Project (PPR) yesterday.
The hairdressers and manicurists were students of Giatmara Malaysia.
The haircut and manicure were offered as part of the Segak ke Sekolah, Jom Potong Rambut Percuma (Look good at school, let’s cut our hair for free) programme, a one-day event being held simultaneously at PPR Jelatek, PPR Hiliran Ampang, PPR Cochrane Laksamana and PPR Cochrane Perkasa.
While the haircut was free for school-aged children living in the four PPRs, the mothers were charged RM5 each.
PPR Jelatek resident Irwan Shah Md Ali praised the programme, adding that the free haircut helped him save money on the backto-school expenditure for his three school-going children.
“The programme is good as it helps middleand low-income households to save on backto-school expenditure.
“I have three children, so if they all have to get haircuts at a salon, it will be expensive for me.
“This helps to ease our burden since we also have to spend money on school essentials and uniforms,” said Irwan, 44, who has children aged five, nine, and 12.
His nine-year-old daughter Nur Aleesya Syazwani said she was happy to be able to cut her hair alongside her playmates in the neighbourhood.
Noorlela Maulan, another PPR resident, was seen enjoying the services offered.
The 50-year-old had a manicure while waiting for her son to get his free haircut.
Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun who launched the programme at PPR Jelatek said about 600 schoolchildren benefited from the initiative.
Rina, who is also Titiwangsa MP, said her service centre also donated school necessities such as school bags to about 2,000 schoolchildren in her constituency.
On another matter, she announced that about 70% of the new Form One intake at Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) schools nationwide for 2019 will be from the B40 (low income) group.
This, she added, was in line with her ministry’s objective to help children from lower-income households access greater educational opportunities.
“We look at both their test results and their families’ income (when considering their application).
“For those in the rural areas, especially Sabah and Sarawak, we feel that if given access to a more conducive learning environment, they will excel as students.
“So that is why we give a bit of advantage to those from the rural areas,” she said after the launch.
Her announcement meant that about 5,400 out of the 7,760 new Form One intake for 2019 at the 54 MRSM schools nationwide will be from B40 households.
She said 20% of students for the coming Form One intake were from M40 (middle 40) households while 10% were from T20 (top 20).
The Statistics Department defined the B40 group as households with a median income of RM3,000 per month, M40 RM6,275 and T20 RM13,148.