MUAR MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has launched an aid programme to assist underprivileged individuals in his constituency due to “insufficient help from the federal government” as the country begins the full lockdown.

The former youth and sports minister said he fully supports the government’s decision for the lockdown but said it must come with substantial subsidies for the B40, M40 communities and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Under his Sejiwa Package, which he announced in a TikTok video, some 2,000 families in Muar will receive computer tablets, food aid and subsidies.

“Why I decided to announce Package Sejiwa for Muar – which is my own financial package for the underprivileged in Muar – is because I don’t think the government is doing enough and the announcement of support came too late,” Syed Saddiq told The Malaysian Insight.

“I don’t think the support given by the government is adequate. There should be at least a three-month automatic moratorium for all, not just for the B40 community.

“Let’s not forget the M40, the middle-class Malaysians which make up the majority of Malaysians.

“They are also badly hit by this lockdown and we owe it to them to help them out.”

Malaysia is in lockdown for two weeks from June 1-14 in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19 as active cases in the country reach 80,000.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced on Monday the government will grant a loan  repayment moratorium for three months for the B40 group and people who have lost their jobs under the Pemerkasa Plus package. The moratorium will also be extended to SMEs who are shut down during this period.

Since the start of the pandemic, Putrajaya has announced stimulus packages worth RM340 billion through its Prihatin, Permerkasa and Penjana packages.

Syed Saddiq, who is also Muda’s co-founder, said the stimulus package announced on Monday was not sufficient to tide the people over during the lockdown period.

“It must come with adequate support. Cash aid, automatic moratorium, especially to all groups,” he said.

As the member of parliament for Muar, Syed Saddiq said he has a duty to help his constituents despite having his allocation stripped back as an opposition lawmaker.

“Despite the fact that my allocation has been stripped back - as a member of opposition I don’t get the RM3.8 to RM4.5 million per annum allocation - but I will not complain, I will find other sources,” he said adding that his allocation is only RM100,000 per annum.

The money for his aid package, Syed Saddiq said, will come from his salary and crowd funding, among others.

“As I have declared openly, the financial aid which I am giving out will come from my June salary, which I am donating to Muar.

“It will come from the sales of my kurta which I sold during Hari Raya, my Jalan Tegak merchandise and through crowd funding,” he said.

Under his Sejiwa Package, his constituents will also receive subsidised Covid-19 tests. An additional 300 tablets for underprivileged students who now need to access online education. He had previously given out 800 laptops and tablets.

“I’ll also provide a transport subsidy for those who registered for AstraZeneca and have to travel to Johor Baru to get their shots, and more than 1,000 food baskets,” he said.

The aid package will also see 30 people going door to door to help 1,000 families register for the Covid-19 vaccine.

Not the first time

This is not the first time Syed Saddiq is taking matters into his own hands to help his constituents.

In December last year, he announced a fundraising effort to help 500 poor families with a laptop each.

He pledged to shave his head if he met his goal, which he did. He raised more than RM383,000 and had his hair shorn on live TV.

In February, Syed Saddiq offered online debate lessons to raise more money – this time to buy computer tablets.

The three-time winner of the Asian British Parliamentary (ABP) Debating Championship’s Asia Best Speaker award offered the lessons for RM200.

Besides going on social media to raise funds, Syed Saddiq has also used it as a tool to criticise the government.

Last year, he took a jab at the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry over its advice to women to talk to their husbands in a Doraemon-like voice.

Most recently, he got into trouble for a video commentary following the death of dairy trader A Ganapathy while in police custody.

Syed Saddiq was called up by the police for questioning and his phone was confiscated. – June 2, 2021.