Rasah Mp Writes To Muhyiddin Over B40 Aid

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Rasah MP Cha Kee Chin has sent a letter to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin urging him to order an immediate investigation into non-compliance with guidelines for the distribution of special aid to B40 families
Cha (photo) is claiming that non-compliance with these guidelines has affected many parliamentary constituencies and has resulted in many B40 people being victimised
Cha claims that as of April 21, 2020, his office has received only 150 baskets of food, with the value of each basket not exceeding RM35
However, in a press conference yesterday, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob refuted allegations that the government is providing food baskets that are not worth the budgeted RM100 per basket
Instead, he said this is aid from NGOs that are sent to the Social Welfare Department for distribution
In a statement last night, Cha indicated that he was not about to let the issue drop
"Government-issued guidelines clearly stated that 1,000 B40 family heads from all constituencies would receive a basket of food worth RM100.""This assistance is in accordance with a letter from the Ministry of Finance dated March 27, 2020
"The guidelines also outline the procedure for procurement, in which the Social Welfare Department will identify the suppliers and types of goods, and subsequently purchase the goods," he added
According to the guidelines, the local MP has been given the responsibility of carrying out the house-to-house distribution, assisted by APM and RELA
"In terms of quality and quantity, this food basket is very different, compared to the food basket promised in the guidelines," Cha said
He said that it is also unclear whether the remaining 850 baskets will be supplied or not, as Seremban Welfare Department officials have not answered him
"There are over 100,000 voters in the Rasah Parliament, with an estimated number of over 150,000 people
"There are many among the B40 people who are affected by the implementation of the movement control order (MCO). Many of them are unable to work and do not have enough savings to survive the MCO period," he said
According to Cha, the prime minister is responsible for ensuring that there is no mismanagement in the delivery of the food aid and should direct the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development to take immediate action to rectify the situation
He added that his decision to write to the prime minister on this issue has been communicated to the Pakatan Harapan leadership.  - Mkini

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