SOME 8,500 house owners in Putrajaya will receive a 30% discount on their annual assessment rate next year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today.

He said the discount was part of the unity government’s move to reduce financial burdens, especially those who fall in the B40 and M40 group.

He said the discount will cover units built from 2017 and were valued at less than RM300,000.

The announcement came after Anwar had met with Kuala Lumpur MPs and DBKL managers.

“We discussed some policy matters and efforts to deal with the problems of the urban poor.

“I emphasise that the main focus of the current administration is to help ease the burden of the people’s lives,” the prime minister said in a Facebook post today.

According to the national poverty data bank system (eKasih), there are at least 6,100 households categorised as poor and 4,500 hardcore poor in the Federal Territories.

According to the government, a poor household is one that earns less than RM2,208 a month, while a hardcore poor house earns less than RM1,169 a month.

“I listened to several briefings and explanations related to the management and affairs of DBKL.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement the Chief Secretary to the Government Zuki Ali said the Federal Territories Ministry had been dissolved and is now a department in the Prime Minister’s Department PMD.

Zuki’s post came after he had attended the briefing with Anwar. He said the new Federal Territories Department will be headed by Rosida Jaafar.

Anwar Ibrahim did not name a federal territories minister when he unveiled his cabinet on December 2. – December 22, 2022.