Up to RM3,100 aid for B40, generating income for the poor

The government is seeking to help the poor, by both proverbially giving them fish to eat while also teaching them to fish.

In unveiling the new Budget 2023, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that households earning less than RM2,500 per month can get aid of up to RM2,500 depending on the number of children.

This is part of the latest government direct cash aid programme, now called Rahmah Cash Aid (Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah - STR).

In addition to the RM2,500, Anwar said the poorest STR recipients - as determined by e-Kasih data - will get additional aid worth RM600.

Anwar said this means hardcore poor households will get aid worth up to RM3,100.

In touch points released by the Finance Ministry later, it showed that the base amount of aid for households earning below RM2,500 with no children is RM1,000.

Meanwhile, those with five children or more will get RM2,500.

There is also aid for households earning between RM2,501 and RM5,000, starting at RM500 for those with no children, and RM1,250 for those with five children and more.

Singles under 60 who are eligible will get RM350 in STR aid.

Singles aged 18 to 20 will also be receiving RM200 in e-wallet credit.

Elderly singles aged 60 and above will get RM600 in aid.

Meanwhile, besides giving the poor direct cash aid, Anwar revealed that the government is allocating RM750 million for an income generation initiative (IPR).

The premier said that the programme will be handled by the Economy Ministry.

Poverty eradication

This will entail several improvements to previous efforts to improve the poor's ability to make a living.

This, he said, includes disbursing aid monthly instead of in a lump sum.

Economic activities aimed at poverty eradication, such as in the agrofarming and food sectors, are suited to the needs of a local community, to ensure that the demand for goods produced is sustained.

Anwar said the programme aims to generate income of between RM2,000 and RM2,500 per month during a 24-month monitoring period, after which it is hoped the IPR participants can continue generating their own income.

Meanwhile, Anwar said the government will also be scrubbing the list of more than 400,000 social welfare aid recipients, to ensure that no one who should be getting aid is left behind.

[More to follow] - Mkini