By Danial Dzulkifly
SHAH ALAM, Jan 8 — The Federal government has allocated more than RM1 billion for the people of Selangor through the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) cash aid to safeguard their welfare, said Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
Similarly, he pointed out that the administration under Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has also addressed various issues faced by the rakyat, including the previous lack of access to affordable daily necessities.
“This shows that the present government is a working government,” he said in a video uploaded on his official social media platform last night.
Previously when tabling the Budget 2024, Anwar had announced an allocation of RM10 billion for STR, a 25 per cent increase from the previous year’s RM8 billion.
Consequently, the maximum STR rate for households has been increased from RM3,100 to RM3,700, while the minimum rate for single youths increased from RM350 to RM500.
Anwar attributed these enhancements to the government’s subsidy restructuring, with the improved aid to benefit nine million individuals. The first STR payment for this year is expected to be disbursed before the Ramadan month in March.
At the state level, Amirudin said the Unity Government has introduced various welfare programmes, including Iltizam Sihat Selangor, free general insurance scheme, and funds for all types of schools.
On top of this, he noted that allocations are provided for houses of worship, with the state administration offering gazetted sites for the construction of these premises, thus exempting them from paying land premiums.
“The payment of land premiums was a problem in the past, preventing places of worship from being built,” he said.
Since taking over state power in 2008, the Pakatan Harapan government has introduced a slew of welfare programmes, starting with just seven under the Merakyatkan Ekonomi Negeri initiative.
It was later rebranded to Inisiatif Peduli Rakyat in 2017, offering 43 aid programmes, before it was reviewed to 33 initiatives two years later.
Under Amirudin’s watch, the state’s welfare scheme was again restructured and is now known as the Iltizam Selangor Penyayang, comprising 46 initiatives with an annual allocation of about RM600 million.
