Disabled M’sians protest against welfare aid curbs

KUALA LUMPUR – More than 150 disabled Malaysians came together for a protest outside Parliament today, mainly to express indignation at a government policy to impose limitations on a monthly welfare aid programme that they condemned as unfair and insensitive.

The protest, organised by the Independent Living and Training Centre Malaysia (ILTC Malaysia) and supported by more than 50 NGOs, was held to send a memorandum to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob urging for the JKMPay programme to be abolished.  

The memorandum was eventually handed to several opposition MPs, among them being Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Fahmi Fadzil, Hannah Yeoh, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Sivarasa Rasiah. 

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun had launched the JKM Cashless Monthly Assistance Payment Project called JKMPay back in April 2021 with Bank Islam Malaysia as a strategic partner. 

Those eligible for the monetary assistance would receive a total of RM450 monthly from the government. However, the programme introduced a new system where only 50% of the allowance would be transferred into a recipient’s account directly. 

Meanwhile, the other half would be transferred into a JKMPay Cashless Card account and the recipient may only spend the money on basic necessities, daily appliances and medicine – but only at stores registered with Bank Islam. 

ILTC Malaysia president G. Francis Siva expressed dissatisfaction at this decision made by the ministry, stating that it violates the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities. 

“We are very upset and shocked about what the ministry has done against the conventional rights of disabled people. 

“The programme must be stopped immediately without any excuses, as any allowance that we receive is our money, and no one has the right to plan what to do with the money for us,” he said.

He added that the ministry should be more understanding of issues faced by the disabled community. 

Francis said that the disabled community is worried about and afraid of the current situation, as they do not have the liberty to spend their money freely due to the restrictions which will affect their livelihood.  

Supporting his view, Anthony Thanasayan, president of non-government organisation Petpositive, said that the ministry should not be making decisions on behalf of the disabled community without any consultation beforehand. 

“We demand that the ministry consult with public disabled leaders at least once in three months to inquire about our needs and issues that we face. 

“We should then be informed beforehand if they have anything planned, and they must ask for our feedback and thoughts regarding the matter,” he said, describing the implementation of JKMPay as a cruel and insensitive move. 

Additionally, Anthony said that the monthly balance that recipients have in their JKMPay will be forfeited and cannot be carried forward to be used in the next month. 

He alleged that despite claims of wanting to listen to what the disabled community has to say about JKMPay, Rina did not show up for a meeting held last week between the ministry and the welfare voluntary organisations for persons with disabilities. 

The ministry will reportedly postpone the expansion of the programme until a feasibility study has been completed. – The Vibes, March 1, 2022