LOW-INCOME earners feel that financial aid from the government is more crucial to their survival now rather than the Covid-19 care package, which Putrajaya said it will be distributing soon.

Those in the B40 group The Malaysian Insight spoke to said they need the cash aid to help in their daily expenses and to pay bills.

While they are grateful for the package, they are seeking an immediate solution to their current financial predicament.

Many have lost their source of income or have suffered salary cuts and are finding it difficult to put food on the table.

They were commenting on Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement last week that Putrajaya will distribute Covid-19 care packages that include rapid test kits and a pulse oximeter to B40 families as Malaysia moves towards an endemic stage of the disease. 

The packages, worth RM471.6 million, are aimed at helping ease the financial burden of the lower income group and protect them from the coronavirus.

He said this initiative will start with families who are recipients of the government’s cash aid programme, Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat.

Low-income earners from the low-cost housing schemes in the Klang Valley, however, said the long-term solution would be financial aid, which will be more beneficial as most of the B40 community are daily wage earners or have lost their jobs due to the outbreak.

A woman who only wants to be known as Yee said financial aid is something the government must give to the B40 community.

“Most of us have lost our jobs and we are barely able to put food on the table. That’s why financial aid is more crucial.

“I am grateful for the aid given but at a time like this, the last thing I’m worried about is wearing a mask,” said Yee, who lost her job as a clerk recently.

Yee said it has come to a point where people have to pick whether they want to pay their bills or have food on the table.

“Priority would definitely be having food on the table but then again how long more do I have to keep owing people or banks money?” she asked.

Fifty-nine-year-old Ridzuan Abdullah said financial aid is necessary especially for someone like him, who is a daily wage earner.

“The government must also look into those who have lost their jobs due to the epidemic as they would be the one suffering the most during these tough times,” said Ridzuan, who is an office runner.

He said cash aid would help them look after their families, including being able to afford Covid-19 prevention and care.

Ridzuan said the Covid-19 care package is good but the volume of the self-test kits and masks must be equal to the number of individuals in each household.

Meanwhile, bodyguard Wan Ahmad Nizam, 57, said the care package is necessary but it should also be given to the homeless and migrants as they are most at risk.

He said this aid should also be provided with a set of instructions that are easy to understand and in multiple languages.

He said more help needs to be given in the form of basic necessities such as food banks.

“The government needs to keep a list of civil society groups and community initiatives that provide aid to the community so that it is easier to provide assistance to the B40 group,” Wan Ahmad said.

Retiree Salmah Yahaya, 59 said the government should be providing blood pressure monitoring machines for the B40 group, along with the care package.

“Such a machine is necessary with the current stress experienced by the B40 group in adapting to the current situation,” she said.

Better late than never

Mahi Ramakrishan of Beyond Borders said the government is very late in giving out this crucial aid.

“We have been living with this epidemic for almost two years and these are the kind of aid that should have been given during the early days of the pandemic, not when we are entering into the endemic stage.

“However, I am happy that the prime minister has finally woken up and realised that these are some of the things the B40 can’t afford,” she said.

Mahi said this initiative may help the B40 community for a short period of time but in the long run it won’t do much good.

“The government has to sit down with the civil society groups and discuss the actual needs of the B40 group.

“We are the ones going to the ground and talking to these people, so we know what is needed.

“For now, it looks like the government is just giving for the sake of giving, without any proper research,” she said.

Since the pandemic, Beyond Borders has assisted more than 40,000 families with food baskets, masks, sanitisers and so on.

Co-founder of Bendera Putih Gasing Indah, Cheska Tatiana Ridzuan, 26 said the aid given by the government is necessary, especially since some of the community work was in high volume areas.

“As schools reopen and the B40s return to work, enabling them to monitor their own symptoms and health can potentially save lives.

“We support the decision to reopen the economy and the safest way for us to go about this is making sure all communities have adequate support to look after their families,” she said.

Bendera Putih Gasing Indah was an initiative started by Cheska and her childhood friend Davina Devarajan, 26, who have helped more than 489 families in the Klang Valley since July this year.

“We started this because most of the people in the community we live in had no access to traditional banking services, nor did they have cell phones. They survived by collecting recyclable waste for a living,” Cheska said.

“The tools given to the B40 must be understood by the community and add value to their lives.” – September 29, 2021.