No one will be left behind. That is the most apt phrase to describe the state government’s concern and efforts in ensuring the lifelong wellbeing of the people and improving the quality of their various aspects of life.
The state government led by Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has not only witnessed various developments and progress, but also improvement in the wellbeing of the people, especially women and the vulnerable groups in the Land of the Hornbills.
Even more unique, the welfare initiatives taken by the state government encompassed all segments of society, such as the Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS) for the newborns, Bantuan Ibu Bersalin (BIB) or maternity assistance for mothers, Kenyalang Gold Card (KGC) for senior citizens and Special Aid for Kidney Patient.
Speaking to Bernama recently, Sarawak Minister of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Early Childhood Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the state government was always concerned and had worked hard to ensure that all sections of Sarawak society can continue benefitting from the state’s revenue and wealth.
In line with the efforts, she said the aid distribution approach should be adjusted accordingly to ensure that the aid will continue to reach at least 90 per cent of the deserving groups.
“In the matter of aid distribution, the state government cannot just wait for the people to come and ask for help. Instead, the government’s machinery should be the one to reach out and deliver aid and assistance to the people.
“We must go extra miles, we must be the facilitators to bring aid and assistance to the people and ensure that they can enjoy all the assistance and facilities made available for them.
“Our intervention measures are through monthly monitoring and comparison. In the distribution of the EFS, for instance, we will compare the number of births and baby registrations and if the registrations were less than births…we will go to the ground to find them to be registered,” she said.
Fatimah said the ministry’s aggressive and continuous efforts with relevant agencies, including integration cooperation with other ministries, would enable the distribution of aid to be expanded to every corner of the state.
Elaborating, she said between 2019 and September this year, over RM180 million had been spent by the state government through various assistance that benefitted over 100,000 Sarawakians.
“For EFS alone, a total of RM96 million has been spent during the same period involving over 65,000 Sarawakian babies, and we want the percentage of the recipients to continue to increase by end of this year.
“Under the EFS, RM1,000 is given to every child regardless of their race, religion and socioeconomic background, and for this year alone, RM26 million was allocated for the purpose,” said Fatimah, who is also Dalat assemblyman.
For the record, the BIB provides RM450 for each baby delivered with 33,571 applications approved between 2020 and September 2021 and for the KGC initiative for the senior citizens, a total of 24,361 cards had been printed for the same period.
Meanwhile, in ensuring the quality of early childhood development and education in Sarawak, the state government is providing a special annual grant of RM5,000 to each Early Childhood Education Institute in the state, which has benefitted 8,581 of such institutions.
Fatimah said the grant is meant to help the institutions to provide healthy and balanced meals for the children and also for the purpose of digitalisation of childcare and guidance.
In line with the state government’s aspiration to provide more quality assistance to the people, she said the state government would always improve and explore new initiatives in the future.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency