KOTA BARU – Amanah women’s wing has urged the federal government to extend the moratorium period for Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) borrowers until the Covid-19 pandemic is over, following its party’s convention in Kelantan last night.
Angkatan Wanita Amanah (Awan) head Dr Hafidzah Mustakim also called on the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to take action by providing supportive programmes to these borrowers.
Stating that it is time to put the women empowerment agenda at the forefront, she said that it can only be done by eradicating poverty among this group in addition to improving its social aspects and education among others.
“According to a United Nations report, women make up 70% of the 1.3 billion people living below the poverty line worldwide. Women are seen to benefit less from development.
“This is also the case in Malaysia.
“The Household Income and Poverty Incidence Estimate Report 2020 released by the Statistics Department shows the impact of Covid-19 on the people.
“The poverty rate has increased from 5.6% to 8.4% in 2020, with about 640,000 households living in poverty.
“This number, of course, includes 378,900 AIM borrowers (data as of January).
“They consist of three groups of women, namely, the hardcore poor earning below RM600 per month, the poor earning below RM950 per month and the low-income group earning below RM3,860 per month.
“Many in the M40 group have been affected by the economic crisis and moved to a lower income group. The B40 has grown, stretching to cover 50% of the population, making it B50.”
She said the convention unanimously accepted the economic proposal to defend the fate of single mothers and B50 women who are AIM borrowers.
This proposal will benefit 56,000 borrowers in Kelantan and more than 300,000 nationwide.
Dr Hafidzah believes that this request is in line with the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the federal government as it aims to provide adequate space for these borrowers to redevelop the affected economic activities.
The women’s wing is also urging newly appointed AIM chairman Datuk Shabudin Yahaya to proactively carry out his responsibility to protect the fate of borrowers.
The government moratorium period extension for AIM borrowers ended on August 31.
The moratorium involved a total value of RM577.3 million, or RM192.2 million a month. The moratorium is said to have benefited 378,507 AIM borrowers nationwide. – The Vibes, October 9, 2021
