Nearly 10,000 Communities Benefit From SejaTi MADANI Programme - Dr Zaliha

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- The Sejahtera Komuniti MADANI (SejaTi MADANI) Programme has benefited 9,678 communities, with a total of 10,337 projects implemented nationwide, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

She said among the notable achievements of the programme was an increase in community income of up to RM15,000 per month, along with the creation of new job opportunities and the advancement of entrepreneurial and agro-food activities.

Dr Zaliha explained that the allocation for the programme, under the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) of the Prime Minister's Department, would be deposited directly into the accounts of the communities that applied.

“To ensure transparency, the ICU has set up a monitoring committee made up of various departments and agencies to regularly review documents and financial records,” she said when winding up the debate on the 2026 Supply (Budget) Bill at the committee stage for the Prime Minister’s Department, in the Dewan Rakyat today.

In the meantime, Dr Zaliha reiterated that the Kota MADANI project in Putrajaya was not a waste, as claimed by some quarters.

She said the project, funded by the private sector through the Build, Lease, Maintain, and Transfer (BLMT) method, was designed as a township with its own identity, featuring residential units to house over 30,000 civil servants and equipped with smart infrastructure, essential facilities, and a sustainable environment.

“The development of Kota MADANI is being carried out under the private finance initiative (PFI), where the private sector covers the construction costs, so the government did not need to allocate RM4 billion,” she said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said the Legal Aid Department had been instructed to review the proposal to raise the annual salary threshold for individuals to qualify for legal aid, in line with the MADANI Government’s commitment to ensuring access to justice for all citizens.

However, he said the government must take into account the impact of raising the salary limit on the private legal services market, ensuring it would not negatively affect the profession, given that not all private agencies charge high fees.

“The current annual income limit of RM50,000 for legal aid under the Legal Aid Department is not absolute. The minister may, in the interest of justice and under the Legal Aid Act 1971, consider eligibility for those earning above RM50,000,” he said.

The sitting continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA