More than 300,000 Sabahans received Covid-19 aid, says Shafie Apdal

CORONAVIRUS | A total of 343,412 people in Sabah received Covid-19 aid as of Friday, said Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He said the aid amounted to RM65,241,900 and the recipients comprised those from the B40 group, hawkers and petty traders, Covid-19 patients, frontliners and vulnerable persons.

“The aid is ongoing and will hopefully lighten their burden,” Shafie (photo) said at the Sabah state assembly sitting in Kota Kinabalu today.

He was replying to a question from Dr Joachim Gunsalam (PBS-Kundasang) on the kind of aid which the state government has given, is giving and will be giving the people of Sabah who have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic following the imposition of the movement control order.

Shafie said the government will also be giving a one-off financial payment of RM500 to 22,456 heads of poor households and 15,747 heads of hardcore poor families who are registered with the e-Kasih system.

“The government is aware that the poor and hardcore poor are among those who need help, especially when faced with the current situation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shafie said the state government also received financial and equipment aid from non-governmental organisations, state statutory bodies and the private sector to help it tackle Covid-19.

“To date, the amount of financial aid received is RM11,380,000. This has been banked into the Sabah Disaster Relief Management Committee Fund.

“The state government will ensure that this contribution is used specifically for matters relating to Covid-19 in the state. For contributions in the form of personal protective equipment (PPE), these have been and are being distributed to hospitals, clinics and frontline agencies,” he added. - Bernama