MELAKA: Bureaucratic processes regarding aid distributions to needy households should be reviewed and reduced to ensure deserving recipients receive aid easily, says Barisan Nasional’s Alor Gajah candidate Shahril Hamdan.
"My campaign trail (so far) has seen me going on house visits which further opened my eyes to the plight of the people.
"One prominent aspect is how the bureaucratic processes of the Welfare Department make it difficult, for those deserving, to receive aid allocations," he told reporters before beginning his walkabout in Rembia here on Wednesday (Nov 16).
He also cited how the presence of satellite dishes, which showed a household had cable television, also saw many deserving families being denied aid allocations.
"My house visits saw many saying their aid applications were dismissed with some even saying their existing allocations were cancelled, due to this.
"In reality however, the service was installed or purchased by their children and did not reflect the family’s true situation," he said.
Shahril, who is the Umno information chief, also noted that more people-friendly policies should be present, especially when it came to aid distribution for households.
"I intend to bring up this issue with both central and local Welfare Department officials in order to reduce the bureaucratic processes on aid distribution.
"At the same time, the procedural issues in regards to the giving of aid, or selecting who is deserving of it, has to be updated with the real situation on the ground," he said.
Shahril is in a four-cornered fight for the Alor Gajah federal seat against Pakatan’s Adly, incumbent Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusoff of Perikatan Nasional and Gerakan Tanah Air’s Muhammad Nazriq Abdul Rahman in the 15th General Election.
