Govt urged to distribute food aid urgently in Penampang
KOTA KINABALU: The state government has been urged to expedite the distribution of Covid-19 food baskets to the needy in Penampang, especially as the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0 has been implemented in Sabah.
This is coupled by the state of Emergency for the country as declared by the Yang diPertuan Agong on Tuesday, said Pritchard Gumbaris, the political secretary to Penampang Member of Parliament and Moyog Assemblyman Datuk Darell Leiking.
According to Pritchard, in October 2020, Sabah Minister of Community Development and People’s Welfare, Shahelmey Yahya, said that priority of the food basket assistance was given to families under quarantine in their respective homes.
He also advised residents in areas affected by the Conditional Movement Control Order in the state to contact the district officer or welfare officer of their respective district for food basket assistance.
“Despite all that announcements we received several complaints from residents that they did not receive the food basket assistance and some of them were unable to go to the district office due to transport or movement problems.
“Taking note of the newly announced MCO and Emergency proclamation, the federal and state governments should double their efforts and should be more proactive in channeling aids to all affected citizens and not just providing assistance to those who are ordered to undergo quarantine by the Ministry of Health Malaysia,” said Pritchard.
He pointed out that since the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government has appointed the chairmen of the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) and new village heads, this is the time for them to act quickly because many are in dire need of such aid.
“Do not instruct residents to come to the district office for assistance as this will hamper the government’s efforts to lower the Covid 19 graph curve as a result of community mobilization,” he said.
Pritchard also stressed to the JKKK and the village heads not to be bias in selecting recipients of assistance based on their political views because Covid-19 does not know anyone based on political beliefs.
“The state government has announced a total of RM2 million for food basket assistance in 2020 and it is able to provide as many as 20,000 people in dire need and I suggest the Chief Minister of Sabah to allocate more new assistance to meet the needs of more residents,” he added.