PETALING JAYA: The Orang Asli community has suggested that the RM10mil allocation for food baskets under Pemulih be given in the form of either food vouchers or cash instead.
Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli Villages Network representative Rizuan Tempek said in the past, such food baskets contained more or less the same items such as rice, sugar, tea, coffee and cans or sardine.
Previously, many had complained that the products that they received had expired or of low quality, he said.
“By giving vouchers, it would ensure that only essential items are being bought and the aid is not being spent on unnecessary items, ” said Rizuan, who also urged for the government to ramp up the vaccination drive in Orang Asli villages.
Fomca chief executive officer Saravanan Thambirajah described the assistance as “timely and comprehensive”, adding that any form of aid would be welcomed by Malaysians now.
“For now, this would help people to stay afloat to face the pandemic.
“Initiatives such as Employees Provident Fund withdrawal and six-months loan moratorium, moratorium on study loan repayments and insurance premium payments, electricity bill discounts, and cooking oil subsidy will be able to help those who are struggling.
“This would also be able to ease their worries and somehow reduce mental stress. Many of those in the B40 and M40 groups have exhausted their savings and made many trips to the pawn shops, ” he said.
Teachers and students would also benefit from the extension of the daily 1GB Internet data, he said, adding that with the ongoing virtual teaching and studying sessions, they were exhausting their data fast.He noted that there were many complaints about the rising price of cooking oil.
“With this subsidy, we hope the people can be assured that more supply of subsidised cooking oil will be available in the market, ” he said.
As many Malaysians are working and studying at home, electricity usage has increased and with the electricity discounts given under Pemulih, Saravanan said this would cushion the impact on consumers.
“With the various assistance being provided, consumers are advised to spend money wisely, ” he said.
“Our survey before the pandemic showed that 34% of Malaysians can only survive three months after losing their jobs, ” he added.
Saravanan, however, expressed concern on the six-month, no-condition moratorium extended to all individuals regardless of income bracket.
“It should be interest-free. Last year, when there was a loan moratorium, consumers were charged interest, ” he said.
OKU Sentral president Senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi welcomed the Pemulih initiatives to provide financial assistance of RM500 a month for three months for unemployed persons with disabilities (PwDs) or those who are not Disabled Workers’ Allowance recipients.On Monday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when unveiling the RM150bil Pemulih, said the initiative which involves an allocation of RM30mil would benefit 20, 000 people.
The government has also allocated RM20mil to implement the “Jaringan Inisiatif Umum” to provide basic business capital assistance and guide the disabled and homeless in business.
This is expected to benefit over 40, 000 individuals.
Ras Adiba said with the assistance given, it would ease the burden of PwDs, especially those who are self-employed or work in sectors that are not allowed to operate during the lockdown such as spas and massage centres.
“This programme is something that is highly anticipated by PwDs as, typically, there is a lot of red tape in the process for us to get financial loans, ” she said.
She added that the RM30 subsidy for e-hailing and taxi rides for PwDs to get to the vaccination centres would also ease their financial burden and ensure they are not left behind in getting inoculated.