SHAH ALAM, June 22 (Bernama) -- A total of 50,000 families in Selangor are eligible to apply for assistance through the 'Kita Selangor Voucher’ initiative starting from noon tomorrow.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the assistance, amounting to RM100 per month for six months, involves a total allocation of RM30 million, with applications to be submitted entirely online through the official portal at www.baucarkitaselangor.com.
"With an allocation of RM30 million, the voucher initiative involves channelling RM100 per month for six months to 50,000 families to ensure any price hike will not have a negative impact on the people's livelihood.
"We also provide a special leeway for single mothers, who have to work to support their children and with a household income of RM5,000 and below, to apply for this aid,” he told a media conference at the lobby of Wisma Dewan Negeri Selangor here today.
He said the target group was identified based on data on applicants who have not received any existing assistance, such as the Bantuan Kehidupan Sejahtera Selangor (BINGKAS) programme, and in accordance with the databases of government agencies, including the Social Welfare Department and the Selangor Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU).
Elaborating, Amirudin said the assistance will be disbursed directly into the e-wallet account of eligible recipients through the verified online registration process, thus reducing the risk of leakage, while enabling the state government to regularly monitor the aid usage and the spending patterns of recipients
"Similar to how we implemented the BINGKAS programme previously, almost all spending could be tracked, and we were even able to determine whether an individual beneficiary was actually using the assistance.
"If a recipient does not use it for several times, we will terminate their participation in BINGKAS because we they will be considered as no longer requiring the assistance, and that is among the measures we have carried out under the framework implemented previously,” he said.
Amirudin had previously said that 50,000 low-income households in the state would receive a monthly cash aid of RM100 for the next six months, starting from June 30, under the Selangor Resilience Strengthening Package Phase 1 that was announced on April 19.
In a similar development, Amirudin said the state government will continue implementing the BINGKAS programme, which provides RM300 per month to 30,000 families to tackle hardcore poverty, with a total of RM138 million allocated for direct assistance to the people to address the rising cost of living.
He added that a long-term strategy would also be drawn up to reduce the people's reliance on cash assistance through skills and entrepreneur development programmes, including matching aid recipients with better job opportunities to improve their standard of living.
-- BERNAMA
