JOHOR BARU: All households in Johor are expected to receive free bags of rice from the state government soon, says Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

       The Mentri Besar said the rice aid programme was part of the RM144mil special government incentive known as Bantuan Kasih Bangsa Johor (BKBJ) that was announced previously.

       “We have prepared 172,500 10kg bags of rice for the first phase of the programme and the distribution will begin today with the coordination of all the district officers in the state," he said on Wednesday (April 27) after launching the Bangsa Johor rice aid programme at Kota Iskandar, Iskandar Puteri.

       He added that the state government aimed to distribute as many bags as possible in the next few days while the rest would be given out in phases after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

       “Hopefully this can help ease the rakyat’s burden as we have enough supply to cater to all households in Johor with some reserves in case there are those who might have missed out,” he said.

       He added that the public could get in touch with their respective assemblyman and state constituency special coordination committee (in Opposition-held constituencies) to find out more about the programme.

       Onn Hafiz also said the programme was part of the 28 initiatives announced under BKBJ, which was set to benefit 3.6 million people in Johor.

       BKBJ has five main categories: community, welfare, youth, education and economy.