By Fitri Hazim Hazam
SHAH ALAM, Jan 5 — A total of 23,900 underprivileged families from the Chinese community in Selangor are set to receive the state’s RM200 shopping voucher in conjunction with the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration.
State executive councillor for poverty eradication V. Papparaidu said this will set the state government back RM4.78 million.
He said each state constituency, including the 22 opposition seats, will receive between 400 and 550 vouchers under the Jom Shopping Perayaan initiative, depending on the size of the Chinese population.
“Kinrara and Bandar Utama will receive the most number of vouchers at 550,” he said, adding that they will be distributed from January 20 to February 9 through the respective state assembly community service centres.
“For opposition held seats, we will appoint representatives or MPs located closest to the constituency to help coordinate the distribution,” he told a press conference at the State Secretariat Building, here, today.
Papparaidu said applications for the voucher can be done at the respective state assembly offices, although they are limited to Selangor voters and households with income of not more than RM3,000.
Bantuan Kehidupan Sejahtera Selangor (Bingkas) and Skim Mesra Usia Emas (SMUE) recipients are not eligible to apply.
“The voucher can be used to purchase goods at selected supermarkets, including Giant, Econsave, TF Value-Mart, NSK Trading, Mydin, Best Fresh Mart, Lotus’s, and Grand Union.”
The state government has allocated RM16.48 million under the 2024 Selangor Budget for the Jom Shopping Perayaan voucher programme, which is set to benefit 82,400 recipients.
Other than Chinese New Year, the initiative under Iltizam Selangor Penyayang also applies to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Deepavali celebrations.
