KOTA KINABALU – A Sabah minister has taken aim at a news portal for reporting that food baskets distributed to the needy, and those under quarantine and in locked-down areas cost RM366 each when the value of the items is estimated at less than RM100.
Shahelmey Yahya, who holds the community development and people’s well-being portfolio, said Ini Sabah Bah’s (ISB) calculation is inaccurate, and that distribution of the aid is ongoing.
“It is incorrect and unfair. We have not yet completed the distribution. The number of (Covid-19) cases is increasing daily, so the recipients are also increasing.”
Yesterday, the state’s spokesman on coronavirus matters, Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, said RM26.7 million has been used towards food baskets, with 72,823 such baskets distributed as at 2pm the same day.
ISB came to the RM366 price tag by using the figures provided by Masidi.
The federal and state governments have each allocated RM5 million for food aid, and Masidi said only Sabah’s allocation has been used thus far. – The Vibes, October 24, 2020
