However, in her reply to Kasthuri Patto (PH-Batu Kawan) in the Dewan Rakyat today, she did not specify whether these consultations were conducted before the rollout of the controversial pilot project last April.

“We held consultations with the recipients, some of whom are persons with disabilities (OKU),” Rina said.

When Kasthuri stood up to question whether these consultations were held before the rollout, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun muted her microphone and told her to allow Rina to finish speaking.

“This is a pilot project which still has room for improvement. This is not a policy yet,” said Rina.

Earlier, Kasthuri said failure to fully engage with the OKU community showed a “lack of leadership” by the government.

She also questioned how the 250 stores under the scheme had been awarded the contract and whether they had wheelchair access.

Rina defended the programme by repeatedly saying that it was a pilot scheme.

Stressing that JKMPay helped the recipients to spend prudently, she said a survey by her ministry showed that the scheme received an encouraging response, especially in terms of ease of use and safety.

“Don’t misunderstand, JKMPay is not just for the OKU,” she said.

The pilot programme has been criticised by disabled groups and organisations who claim they had not been consulted before its implementation.

About 100 members of the OKU community had gathered along Jalan Parlimen on Tuesday to protest against the scheme. Under JKMPay, half of the cash aid is distributed through a cashless card to be used at 250 stores registered with Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad.

Among those who claim that the ministry did not seek the views of the OKU community before introducing JKMPay are Ras Adiba Radzi, who is a senator, and Independent Living and Training Centre Malaysia president Francis Siva.

Both are calling on the government to end the scheme.