Zaiton Ismail

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 -- Budget 2021 is described as a caring budget not only for women but also for the less-fortunate groups.

The budget, among others, will benefit 49,951 recipients of Johor Social Welfare Department (JKM) aid through an increase in various assistance of between RM50 and RM150.

State Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Zaiton Ismail said currently, the Johor JKM spends almost RM16 million per month for target groups.

Through Budget 2021, the allowance for non-working individuals with disabilities (OKU) will be increased from RM250 to RM300 a month, while assistance for senior citizens, as well as OKU and chronic patients, will be raised from RM350 to RM500.

Aid for children from poor families will be increased from RM100 to RM150 per child between the age of seven and 18 years with a maximum of RM450 per family or RM200 for a child aged six and below per family with a maximum of RM1,000 per family.

Meanwhile, the allocation of RM100 million for non-governmental organisations (NGO) and focus on the women in Budget 2021 were described as caring for the people while facing the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Pertubuhan Ihsan Johor chief executive officer Farrah Faridah Baptist said the micro-credit financing facility for women through Tekun, Mara and AgroBank was timely in an effort to empower female entrepreneurs.

“The establishment of the One-Stop Social Support Centre with an allocation of RM21 million can be a reference for vulnerable women who are facing divorce issues, domestic violence and others because many of them don’t know where to seek assistance,” she said.

Johor Empowerment of Intellectual Women Association (JEIWA) founder Nor Fadilah Mohamed Nizar said many programmes have been and are being outlined to empower women especially professionals who have been affected by domestic violence and wanted to start a new chapter in their lives.

For Zairihan Zainuddin, 44, a single mother with no fixed income, she can now breath a sigh of relief after knowing that she would get various incentives including the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR), assistance for children from poor families, telecommunication credit under the Jaringan PRIHATIN Programme and Targeted Loan Moratorium.

“As a single mother who is raising five children with uncertain income due to less sewing orders since the Movement Control Order was enforced, these assistance will provide some relief to me to care for the family and paying up loans,” she said.

BPR is replacing the Bantuan Sara Hidup programme with an allocation totalling RM6.5 billion and is expected to benefit 8.1 million people.

Under BPR, households with a monthly income of less than RM2,500 without any children or have one child would receive RM1,200, while those with two children or more would get RM1,800.

Households with a monthly income of RM2,501 to RM4,000 and without any children or with a child will receive RM800, while those with two or more children will get RM1,200.

-- BERNAMA