Monday January 17, 2011

Shahrizat: RM1bil spent on welfare last year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Govern­­ment has spent over RM1bil on welfare through the Social Welfare Department (JKM) last year, said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

She said the aid recipients comprised 117,510 senior citizens, 109,782 low-income families, 93,646 children, 89,461 disabled and 3,724 victims of disasters.

Shahrizat said the Government had used the allocations to improve the living standards of the less fortunate in addition to efforts in eradicating poverty.

“Schemes under the department allow us to provide assistance of at least RM100 or up to a maximum of RM450 per month, which is allowed by the Treasury depending on the eligibility of the recipient.

“For 2010, the allocation to help the target groups was higher than RM760mil in 2009 because we focused on helping the elderly as they are often neglected by their families and left to fend for themselves without proper care,” she said in a press conference.

“It is a hefty bill. If we withdraw this safety net, the effect will be great.

“However as a caring Govern­ment, we will not do so,” she said.

Shahrizat said this year, the ministry had introduced the Productive Welfare, an initiative under the Government Transformation Prog­ramme (GTP)’s Low-Income House­holds National Key Results Area (NKRA) called 1AZAM, designed to help participants lift themselves out of poverty through employment, entrepreneurship, agricultural activities and services.

“Under the NKRA, we help them through 1AZAM with seed money that will help them become independent within three months.

“The ministry will go all out with the programme as we want to help the poor become more independent,” she said.