Ministry to re-evaluate JKMPay
Its minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun (pic) said a committee would be formed to re-evaluate the implementation and all concerns would be addressed.
“We will go through the concerns thoroughly and we will call OKU (people with disabilities) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for the discussions soon.
“The aim of this cashless programme is to create a digitally savvy community among our OKU friends and senior citizens.
“We urge the people to give this programme a chance,” she said in a statement.
Several OKU NGOs had submitted a protest memorandum to Rina on Jan 25, deeming the JKMPay as ‘non-beneficial’ to them.
Rina had since said that they would carry out another round of study on the cashless programme.
Meanwhile, Independent Living and Training Centre (ILTC) Malaysia president G. Francis Siva said the Welfare Department (JKM) should immediately stop the implementation of JKMPay until the matter is resolved.
He said JKMPay was carried out without consulting a single OKU group. As such, he said, it was best to put the programme on hold because it directly impacted the lives of OKU.
“It has been some time since we submitted the memorandum and we are eager to have our voices and concerns heard.
“The minister is not walking in our shoes; she doesn’t truly understand how helpless we are. If she hears our opinion and does nothing, then it is just ridiculous,” he said.
When asked about the online MyDaftar OKU platform, Francis said the new system was so much better than the manual form filling method.
He said the online registration for OKU did away with a lot of red tape and was disabled friendly as it would not require going from one office to another.
According to Rina, in the past two months alone, 13,715 people had registered via MyDaftar OKU. The ministry will also be reaching out to more families and NGOs to assist in registering their family members.
On this, Francis said it would be good if the ministry gave job opportunities and training for the OKU to work with them at JKM or other programmes.
“I think it is high time we are given such opportunities because we can relate to other OKUs. We can help convince the family or individuals to seek assistance.
“We can also help them in their policy making decisions,” he said.
The JKMPay is a 50% cash and 50% cashless programme for new JKM recipients that was carried out through a pilot project in Feb 2021.
Respondents to the pilot programme revealed that 80% were favourable to JKMPay, Rina had claimed.
JKMPay was first carried out at JKM Perlis and district social welfare offices (PKMD) in Kubang Pasu and Kota Setar, Kedah, as well as in Melaka Tengah.
It was then expanded to Kedah, Melaka, Terengganu, Kelantan and Selangor.
The second phase of the programme began early this year in Sabah and Labuan, while phase three will begin next year in the other states.
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