KLANG: Selangor has reactivated its Tabung Bantuan Menangani Bencana Covid-19 with an allocation of RM73.87mil and recipients of Yayasan Selangor study loan are among the beneficiaries.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the 762 recipients no longer need to service the loans.
“This initiative was decided after Yayasan Selangor scrutinised the recipients’ ability to pay the loans as well as their current income.
“Writing off the loans given to the 762 recipients will cost the state some RM7.17mil, ” he said when announcing Selangor’s latest Covid-19 economic stimulus dubbed Pakej Kita Selangor yesterday.
Amirudin said RM10mil would go towards an e-kitchen programme to help small scale food and beverage sellers and peddlers to continue their business online while a micro-credit plan would also be rolled out for other small businesses such as provision shops.
“RM6mil will be used towards continuing the state’s free mass targeted Covid-19 screening which will benefit 50,000 people.
“The programme will focus on target groups such as senior citizens who are high risk, especially the elderly at old folks homes and haemodialysis centres throughout the state as well as the B40 group and Selangorian graduates, ’’ he said.
Amirudin added that RM3mil has been set aside towards providing lunch and dinner for 9,822 medical frontliners in the various hospitals and district health departments as well as 3,500 police and military personnel who are involved in manning the roadblocks and ensuring the Covid-19 standard operating procedure are adhered to. The fund is from Selangor Mentri Besar Incorporated.
He also said the state would be waiving this month’s rental for those living in People’s Housing Project (PPR) units as well as defer rental for February and March which would incur a cost of RM1.7mil and benefit 2,371 PPR tenants.
“Deferment of rental for Jan, Feb and March will also be made available to 450 tenants under the Smart Sewa Scheme with a financial implication of almost RM1mil.
“Another initiative is an RM1.3mil allocation to purchase groceries for food baskets to be distributed to targeted groups such as taxi drivers, school bus drivers, those living in PPR flats, solid waste lorry drivers working with Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad Waste as well as the Orang Asli, ” he said, adding that farmers and fishermen would also receive food baskets and petrol subsidy.
Amirudin said a special allocation of RM100,000 would be channelled to each of Selangor’s 56 state constituencies under the state Mesra Rakyat Programme.
“The assemblymen will use the fund to procure basic essentials such as rice, cooking oil, flour, canned food as well as other requirements to be distributed to their constituents.
“Parliamentarians will also receive RM50,000 each for the same purpose, ’’ he added.
He also said the Smart Selangor buses would provide free service to transport Covid-10 low risk patients from their homes to the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park in Serdang for them to be treated much earlier.
Amirudin added that he had contributed a month’s salary to the Covid-19 fund and said the state’s exco members as well as elected representatives would also likely follow suit.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/01/21/sgor-reactivates-covid-19-aid-fund