Kelantan Federal Development Department director Makhtar Mustapha said the department was awaiting instructions from the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry to distribute the rice to eligible recipients, comprising of those whose names are in the National Poverty Data Bank or eKasih list, he told Bernama today.
He said the distribution of rice under the MyBeras programme would be made through the Federal Village Development and Security Committees (JKKKP).
The MyBeras programme was announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak when tabling the recalibration of the 2016 Budget last January 28 to help reduce the financial burden of the poor due to the rising cost of living.
Meanwhile, petty trader Kamaruzaman Mat, 57, from Kampung Salor here said that the rice aid would reduce his expenses in providing the staple food for his family.
“With the aid, I can use the money to buy other things for the family,” he added.
Kamaruzaman and his wife, Siti Minah Yakob, 47, operate a ‘murtabak’ business at a stall leased to them by a resident in the village.
He said they managed to get RM1,000 a month, wherein RM500 was used for their house rental. They have five school-going children and another studying in an institution of higher learning.
A single mother, Siti Mariam Mohd Noor, 55, from Kampung Telaga Gayong, Pasir Puteh said the rice aid would help to ease her burden in caring for her four school-going children.
She receives monthly aid worth RM300 from the Social Welfare Department and spends an average of RM30 a month for the staple food.
“The money meant for the rice can now be spent for my children’s school needs,” she added.
– BERNAMA