Help B40 make a living, not give handouts, says consumer group

 

The government announced additional handouts in the form of food baskets for the hardcore poor under Budget 2023.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government needs to help the hardcore poor to generate their own income and not just continue giving them handouts, says a consumer group.

The Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association’s (PPIM) chief activist Nadzim Johan said the handouts announced in Budget 2023 are short-term solutions that will only make the lower-income group rely on the government for the long term.

Nadzim said handouts also do not add value to the lives of the lower income group as what they need is an initiative to remove them from the cycle of poverty.

“The RM600 additional handout won’t go far. The government should have given aid in a more productive form which could help them generate their own income.

“For example, the government could have given them a choice to run a small business cultivating mushroom or hydroponic farming which does not involve a lot of costs,” he told FMT.

Nadzim was commenting on the additional RM600 handout in the form of food voucher under the Rahmah Cash Handout (STR) initiative for those who are in the women, family and community development ministry’s e-Kasih database.

In the budget announcement yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also announced a cash handout of up to RM2,500 depending on the number of children, for households with an income of less than RM2,500, saying this will also be disbursed under the STR.

Meanwhile, Dr Maamor Mansor, a general practitioner (GP), said the Madani medical scheme (Skim Perubatan Madani) for the B40 was a commendable initiative but urged the government to extend the coverage.

“The scheme needs to give more value than the Selangor state government’s Iltizam Selangor Sihat (ISS) initiative.

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“It has to increase its coverage, add more panel clinics and enable its recipients to undergo regular medical check-ups for early detection of diseases,” he said.

Maamor said he hopes that the scheme will be expedited to reduce the congestion in public hospitals.

The scheme allows the poor to seek treatment from private GP clinics. Anwar said RM120 million has been allocated for this scheme under Budget 2023.

The budget which was unveiled yesterday was the biggest in the history of the country with an allocation of RM388.1 billion. - FMT