Welfare assistance always tops Sarawak Budget — Fatimah
The welfare of women, children, the elderly and the needy will continue to take centre stage in the Sarawak Budget, said Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
The Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister said the 2023 budget included strengthening social service and increasing social protection, as well as strengthening early childhood education in the state.
She said her ministry was allocated RM52 million for various welfare assistance like general and disaster aid; RM15 million for birthing mothers (ibu bersalin); RM12 million for Kenyalang Gold Card (KGC) holder death assistance; RM10 million for Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS); RM4.2 million for Kasih Suri Keluarga Malaysia Special Grant; RM3.75 million for Low Income Household Empowering Programmes (e-Life); RM3.5 million for community wellbeing awareness and intervention programme; RM2 million for kidney patient aid; RM500,000 to set up homeless transit centre in Bintulu and Miri; RM500,000 for Special Needs Community Centre (SNCC) foundation works; and RM2.2 million to set up the Community Social Support Centre (CSSC).
For education, the ministry was allocated RM20 million to set up new SeDidik preschools throughout Sarawak; RM20 million for operation costs of 98 Sedidik kindergartens and preschools; RM15 million for 3,000 registered early childhood education institutions throughout the state; and RM1.95 million for the One Stop Early Intervention Centre (OSEIC) Sarawak, she said at the ministry’s appreciation and celebration dinner on Tuesday.
At the same time, she said that since its implementation in 2019 to Dec 2021, a total of 81,926 EFS accounts were opened, involving allocation of RM81.9 million. As of October this year, 20,462 accounts were opened, involving RM20.46 million, she said.
For the Bantuan Ibu Bersalin, a total of 37,158 mothers have received the aid since it was introduced in 2020 up to October this year. The mothers received RM450 one-off aid each, and the aid involved allocation of RM16.7 million.
Meanwhile, Fatimah extended her appreciation to the state’s special needs athletes who contributed to the state’s medal count.
At the Special Olympic Games Malaysia, the team brought home 22 gold, 22 silver and 12 bronze medals while at the 9th Asean Special Olympics South East Asia 5-A-Side Unified Football Tournament 2022, Sarawak emerged as first runner-up, apart from a few other achievements, she said.