KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — The People’s Income Initiative (IPR), which aims to increase the income of the hardcore poor and the B40 group, has benefited 4,100 households so far, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said IPR is one of the short and medium-term intervention measures the government is implementing to eradicate hardcore poverty this year.
“IPR involves providing a complete ecosystem and support in-kind to participants to assist and encourage them in economic activities to generate additional income sustainably,” he said during the ministerial reply in the Dewan Rakyat.
Rafizi was responding to a question from Tampin MP Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa on the current development of the government’s aspirations to make 2023 the year to end hardcore poverty and Malaysia’s current poverty rate.
The IPR, allocated RM750 million under Budget 2023, aims to help about 130,000 people, regardless of their background, to free themselves from the shackles of poverty.
It is implemented through three pilot initiatives, namely the Farmer Entrepreneur Initiative (Intan), the Food Entrepreneur Initiative (Insan), and the Services Operator Initiative (Ikhsan).
To increase the participation of target groups in the IPR initiative, the minister said all government agencies have been asked to identify low-income households to be enrolled in an appropriate programme under the IPR by the end of this year.
Besides the IPR, the government’s commitment to eradicate hardcore poverty was also realised through various measures under Budget 2024, including the continuation of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara), and Payung Rahmah initiatives.
Other initiatives include subsidies for rice farmers and smallholders, as well as rural infrastructure repair projects and poverty alleviation programmes.
“In addition, the government has agreed to consider a special monthly cash subsidy for households that cannot earn an income or are unproductive to ensure they get out of extreme poverty,” Rafizi said.
Meanwhile, he said about 80,000 households had been removed from the eKasih list by September this year, after the clean up of the eKasih database.
— Bernama
