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KUALA LUMPUR – Petpositive, a non-government organisation (NGO) supporting persons with disabilities in Malaysia, said that the JKMPay programme will be on tomorrow’s Dewan Rakyat agenda.
P+NEWSFLASH! #JKMpayprotest issue 2 B debated in Parliament tomorrow, Thursday, 3rd March, 2022 at 10am. Don't miss! 👍🏾 pic.twitter.com/Ie2152WKh5
— PETPOSITIVE (@PETPOSITIVE) March 2, 2022
MPs are set to debate the issue, following a protest from pressure groups yesterday expressing indignation at a government policy to impose limitations on the monthly welfare aid programme, which they had condemned as unfair and insensitive.
The protest, organised by the Independent Living and Training Centre Malaysia and supported by more than 50 NGOs, was joined by more than 150 disabled Malaysians.
A memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob urging for the JKMPay programme to be abolished was handed in during the protest.
The memorandum was eventually given to several opposition MPs, among them being Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Fahmi Fadzil, Hannah Yeoh, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Sivarasa Rasiah.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun had launched the JKM Cashless Monthly Assistance Payment Project called JKMPay back in April 2021, with Bank Islam Malaysia as a strategic partner.
Those eligible for the monetary assistance would receive a total of RM450 monthly from the government.
However, the programme introduced a new system where only 50% of the allowance would be transferred into a recipient’s account directly.
Meanwhile, the other half would be transferred into a JKMPay Cashless Card account and the recipient may only spend the money on basic necessities, daily appliances and medicine – but only at stores registered with Bank Islam. – The Vibes, March 2, 2022
