Rafidah: Handouts only for those who need it

PETALING JAYA: A deeper analysis must be done to identify the exact number of people who require handouts from the government, says former international trade and industry minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.

She said there was a need to identify core groups that needed help as it would help the government to also keep track on where the needy, less fortunate or those below the poverty line are.

“If a village headman has identified Ahmad bin Ali as poorer than others, then he is the only one who should get (help).

“Don’t let the entire village get up to thousands and millions of ringgit. It has to be systematic,” Rafidah was quoted as saying in an interview with Mingguan Malaysia.

Rafidah maintained that monetary aid should be given only to those who really needed it.

“Only then, people will not complain,” she added.

Rafidah said she had never seen a government that was “so generous” as the previous Barisan Nasional administration.

“Sometimes for taxi drivers, sometimes for oil, for tyres. Even pensioners saw a 200% increase.

“My point is, don’t give something only to win over the people’s hearts. That is not the way. We are not a nation like that,” she said.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive Ali Salman said BR1M should be focused towards bringing its recipients out of the poverty cycle, instead of helping supplement their income.

He was supportive of the cash handout “as long as it was not indefinite and designed to be targeted.”

“It becomes a problem when it is seen as being part of one’s income. In that sense, BR1M is unconditional and permanent because people receive it every year,” he said.

The cash aid, said Ali, should be used for specific purposes to empower the poor, such as to help upgrade their skills.

Wanita Umno chief Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad described the Pakatan Harapan’s decision to eventually discontinue BR1M as “saddening and a move backwards”.

In a statement, the Parit Sulong MP said BR1M had proven to not only help the low income group but was also like a microeconomic restructure of the country.

“The aid is given to those who really are in need and they will spend it on themselves and at the same time help the economy.

“In the context of BR1M, the increase in spending by the B40 household groups after receiving the cash handout has spurred the domestic economy,” she said.