KUALA LUMPUR: Administrative empowerment of district offices and officers nationwide is viewed as a crucial step in achieving the government’s mission to eradicate poverty, with the focus on improving the well-being of the people.
It cannot be denied as the intermediary between the government and the people, district offices played a critical role in ensuring no one is left behind or sidelined from receiving government assistance as well as conveying the people’s concerns to the government.
The government has approved RM750mil in Budget 2023 to eradicate hardcore poverty this year, with allocations channelled to the Economy Ministry for three new programmes, including providing jobs to certain groups.
The Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) of RM2,500 will also be channelled to households with an income of less than RM2,500 and with five children.
An additional RM1,500 will also be distributed if they are in the eKasih group (under the purview of the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) of the Prime Minister’s
In Penang, the Seberang Perai Selatan District and Land Office has completed the profiling of aid recipient candidates in the effort to combat hardcore poverty as initiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Seberang Perai Selatan district officer Khairulnizam Hashim said the profiling process was carried out in collaboration with Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) in order to ensure the success of the programme and its significant impact on the recipients.
“Two officers have been deployed to the field to assist the district office with the programme, we have also completed the profiling of aid recipient candidates and UUM is in the process of preparing a report to be submitted for further action.
“NCER will be notified later for immediate action, but in terms of the budget for the programme, it has not yet been finalised,” he said.
In Perak, Kuala Kangsar district officer Zulhisham Ahmad Shukori said for the time being, the district office has been asked to assist in verifying the background and eligibility of the participants in the hardcore poverty eradication programme.
According to him, the allocation for the programme was not given directly to the Kuala Kangsar District and Land Office because it is coordinated by the ICU through the Perak State Development Office.
“In addition, through the ePenghulu initiative, matters related to the registration of eKasih participants can also be carried out,” he said.
Manjung district officer Shamsul Ridzuan Idris said several initiatives have been implemented to address the issue of hardcore poverty, including the Peningkatan Pendapatan Programme, the NCER Empowerment Programme, Skills and Entrepreneurship Training and the Hardcore Poverty Eradication Programme.
He said, however, efforts to eradicate hardcore poverty also face several challenges, including the attitude and mentality of the hardcore poor, who were only waiting for financial aid from the government, despite the fact that other forms of assistance, such as training and job matching, were also provided. — Bernama
