PETALING JAYA – More than 30,000 families out of 1.8 million population in the capital are estimated to have an income of below RM2,200, which is under the poverty line, and need appropriate assistance, said Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
Annuar said the number is made up of families in 178 localities around Kuala Lumpur, especially involving People’s Housing Project (PPR) residents.
“In the city (Kuala Lumpur), this group is unable to fulfil their basic needs, such as food, clothes and shelter. (So) we feel that they need assistance via various facilities and aid, and there must be a special plan so this group is not left behind,” he said.
Annuar was speaking to reporters after announcing a list of 335 award, honours, and medal recipients in conjunction with the Federal Territory Day celebration here.
Also present were Federal Territories Secretary-General Datuk Seri Rosida Jaafar and Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Mahadi Che Ngah.
Annuar said the exact number of household heads who fall under the poverty line could not be ascertained as the matter was managed by various agencies, such as the Welfare Department, Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council and Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department.
“We believe there is some overlap, but our estimation is based on household heads in 63,000 units of PPR around the capital, with half of them living under the poverty line,” he said.
Meanwhile, Annuar said the ministry will distribute over 5,000 bags of rice per week to the needy under the MyBeras@Wilayah programme compared to 3,000 bags previously, due to overwhelming response from contributors.
“We expect to distribute 20,000 to 30,000 bags of rice to target groups over a month.
“We are still open for donations and I have personally contacted my friends from private entities to participate in this programme. The public can also donate a minimum of RM10 via the MyInfaq portal,” he said.
He added that the rice distribution will be carried out systematically to target groups in each zone so there would be no violation of standard operating procedures during the implementation of the movement control order (MCO).
The MyBeras@Wilayah programme is a sub-programme of MyFood@Wilayah, organised specifically for the urban poor or those who find themselves without income during the MCO, which was launched virtually by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his Federal Territory Day message last night. – Bernama, February 1, 2021
