Sabah ministry to channel special aid to the poor

CORONAVIRUS | The Sabah Ministry of Rural Development has been tasked with coordinating the distribution of special aid allowances to the poor and hardcore poor as well as the B40 or lower-income group in the state under the Covid-19 Stimulus Package.

Its minister Ewon Benedick said the allocation under the state government was aimed at reducing the burden of the people of Sabah affected by the outbreak, especially during the movement control order (MCO) which came into force March 18.

"My ministry is responsible for coordinating the distribution of assistance to those listed under e-Kasih, farmers, fishermen and breeders as well as the B40 target group," he said in a statement yesterday.

In this regard, Ewon expressed hope those who fall under these categories would contact their respective regional offices or departments to ensure that their names were included in the list.

He said the ministry would begin making payments directly into the bank accounts of those eligible in the state starting today, March 30.

"For those who do not have a bank account, we will ask for cooperation from the district offices to deliver the assistance to recipients in their respective areas," he said.

Ewon said the state government had allocated RM20 million for the RM500 special allowance to be given as a one-off payment to the heads of 22,456 poor households, and 15,747 hardcore poor households that were registered throughout Sabah.

He also requested the cooperation of all the chairpersons of village community management councils throughout the state to gather the banking details of the beneficiaries listed on the e-Kasih registry to be forwarded to respective district offices to assist with the distribution of the aid.

The state government had also allocated RM80 million for the B40 group in the state, which involves a one-off payment of RM300 to each recipient, he said.

According to Ewon, about 30,000 Sabahans working in Peninsular Malaysia would also not be left behind from the aid.

He said the assistance would also benefit 13,132 taxi drivers; farmers, fishermen and breeders (169,630 people); porters and mountain guides (339); elderly, orphaned and disabled (62,638); and single mothers (6,500) throughout Sabah.

Sabah on Wednesday announced an RM670 million stimulus package with the tagline "Sabah, we care", to help the people during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The package is split into three main categories, RM60 million for frontliners, RM360 million for affected people, and RM250 million to improve quality of life and ensure businesses remain sustainable.

- Bernama