Sunday February 3, 2013

Ordinary folk overjoyed to receive BR1M 2.0 vouchers

By WANI MUTHIAH and RAHIMY RAHIM
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: British Army veteran Ibrahim Jaabar has no pension or any source of income.

The widower, who lives with his 31-year-old bachelor son, depends financially on his six children.

So when the RM500 through the 1Malaysia People's Aid 2.0 (BR1M 2.0) came along, Ibrahim, 74, was delighted.

“It can ease my expenses,” he said.

Ibrahim, who said that he did not get a pension because he had only served 18 years instead of the required 20 years in the British Army, thanked the Federal Government for the much-needed help.

For Wong Tai Moi, 63, the RM500 would go towards her expenses for regular trips to the hospital.

Wong, a former babysitter, said she had to seek treatment due to complications arising from diabetes.

“I had to have an operation after I fell and injured myself due to dizziness,” she said.

Both Wong and her husband Goh Boon Lam, 67, have no source of income and depend on their three children to see them through.

Mother of three S. Indra Devi, 43, said that such financial aid was great for ordinary folk like her.

She would use the money for her children's expenses.

As for Tenaga Nasional retired meter reader Yaakob Zainal Abidin, 74, he said: “I can buy my wife and myself something extra with this money.”

Such aid, he said, meant a lot to retirees like him.

They were among the estimated 10,000 people who received the BR1M 2.0 vouchers yesterday in Taman Dagang Jaya here.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who was present at the event, said the Barisan Nasional government had delivered the financial aid because it was a dependable government which prioritised the people's needs.

“We are able to keep our promise because we manage the economy well,” he said.

He stressed that BR1M 2.0 was possible due to the taxes collected as a result of the country's healthy economy.

Najib lambasted the Opposition for alleging that the funds were derived from the implementation of Automatic Enforcement System.

At the football stadium in Bandar Tun Razak here, thousands of people gathered to collect the vouchers.

Among them was V. Krishnamah, 54, who received the financial assistance for the second time.

“I have three children. The money will be used for their school expenses as well as for our daily spending,” said Krishnamah, who works as a cleaner.

She hoped that the Government would continue giving out such aid as a way to help those in the lower income group.

People who received the aid yesterday included those in Kedah, Penang and Pahang.

Najib also visited residents of the Pandan Jaya medium-cost flats.

Stopping at Block L4 for a quick lunch, Najib also symbolically painted the outside wall of one of the ground floor units there after announcing a RM3.5mil allocation to repaint low and medium cost flats in the Pandan constituency.

Later at the launch of World Interfaith Harmony Week in Brickfields, Najib identified three principles in order to foster peace and harmony among different religions in the country.

He said that moderation, respect and inclusiveness were needed to avoid conflicts.

He visited five religious sites around Brickfields and donated RM30,000 to each group.

Najib said that all religions promote peace and harmony through their teachings.

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Sunday February 3, 2013

Ordinary folk overjoyed to receive BR1M 2.0 vouchers

By WANI MUTHIAH and RAHIMY RAHIM newsdesk@thestar.com.my

By WANI MUTHIAH and RAHIMY RAHIM
newsdesk@thestar.com.my