KOTA KINABALU – Agricultural industry players in Sabah are set to receive RM34.9 million from the state government to relieve their financial burden during the pandemic.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Jeffrey Kitingan, who is also minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, said the fund will benefit 116,248 recipients and each recipient will get a RM300 one-off assistance.
The recipients are farmers under Agriculture Department (32,836 people), fishermen under Fishery Department (10,699 people), oil palm smallholders under Malaysian Palm Oil Berhad (16,205 people), cocoa smallholders (1,160 people), and those under Sabah Rubber Industry Board (48,756 people), veterinary – breeders (2,069 people), Rural Development Corporation (663 people), and Sabah Land Development Board (3,890 people).
Kitingan said the list is not exhaustive as those not recorded would also be considered for the cash aid as long as they are registered with the relevant departments or agencies.
The fund is part of the government’s total aid to assist B40 groups, which also includes other sectors such as taxi, bus and lorry drivers, and tourism industry players.
He said the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry will process the documentations for the RM34,874,400 aid to be sent to the State Treasury Department for further payment and credited directly into recipients’ accounts.
Yesterday, a similar aid was announced for 3,957 tourism players in Sabah, amounting to RM1 million in assistance for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment from the state government.
These aids are allocated from the RM160 additional allocation announced by the state government to help the affected groups during this pandemic. – The Vibes, October 30, 2020.
