KUALA LUMPUR: Six new initiatives aimed at enhancing the welfare of Malaysians were introduced by the unity government under the Madani Economy Framework over the past one year.
These initiatives include increased direct financial aid, subsidy rationalisation, as well as allowances and schemes for three different categories: the general public, students and educators and farmers.
The Finance Ministry, in its 'One Year of the Madani Economy' report released today, said the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA), introduced to provide aid to the public, had given RM1,200 over 12 months to 700,000 recipients.
Additionally, the government also introduced a subsidy on electricity bills that comes with a deposit exemption. This amounted to a RM200 million allocation under the Payung Rahmah initiative.
For the welfare of students and educators, the government provided free travel passes for students and persons with disabilities (PwDs).
Under the farmers' welfare category, a RM3,000 scheme was provided for agricultural insurance, while RM200 has been given as part of special assistance for farmers.
In terms of social protection for the people, the government has spent RM3.6 billion on the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), benefiting about 8.4 million recipients.
A total of RM337.3 million was spent on the People's Income Initiative (IPR), while RM282 million has been allocated to SARA for the poor and hardcore poor.
Meanwhile, to encourage companies to bear the remaining 10 per cent contribution to the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (SKSPS) for gig workers, a total of RM21 million has been spent, benefiting 42,700 workers.
In addition, RM8 billion has been spent on 3.28 million withdrawal applications for the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) Account 3 (Flexible Account).