Teach To Fish Rafizi On Why People S Income Initiative Tops Old Aid Models

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Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli has defended the People’s Income Initiative (IPR) as a more cost-effective and sustainable model for poverty alleviation.
Contrasting it with past programmes that he said spent billions, but delivered only marginal income gains for participants, Rafizi stood by the plan, which features the use of vending machines to provide income-generating opportunities.
He pointed to recent reports by Singapore's CNA on a Malaysian food entrepreneur who used vending machines, drawing an example of how IPR is designed to generate steady income for the lower-income group rather than one-off aid handouts.
"During the era of (former prime minister) Najib (Abdul Razak), there was a programme called 1Azam. Its goal was nearly the same, and RM1.1 billion was spent between 2010 and 2013," Rafizi said in a social media post last night.
"Recipients received between RM5,000 and RM50,000 in aid, usually around RM10,000 to RM20,000 each, and most of it was to help them start businesses or farming, so they didn’t receive cash, but equipment, tools, fertilisers, and so on.
"But the focus was more on distributing aid so that the government could announce how much had been spent. The success rate in sustainably raising incomes was mixed," he added.
He noted that under 1Azam, the reported figure was that 66 percent of recipients managed to increase their income by at least RM300 per month for three consecutive months.
"Imagine spending tens of thousands per person but only raising income by RM300 a month. Compare this with IPR, where the condition is to generate at least RM2,000 monthly.
"Some have even reached RM4,000 to RM5,000, as CNA reported," the PKR lawmaker quipped.
Word of caution
Rafizi cautioned, however, that if not handled carefully, such aid programmes end up benefitting suppliers selling machines, equipment, fertilisers, and so on to the government.
The main issue for aid recipients, he added, is not just capital or equipment, as they also have to secure a place to do business.
"The real lesson (from IPR) is that simply handing out aid is not enough if recipients end up dependent on the government. Teach them to fish, don’t just give fish," the Pandan MP explained.
"The main problem for food entrepreneurs is access to high-traffic locations. That’s why the government worked to place these vending machines in public hotspots to boost sales.
"The government also didn’t hand out cash, only machines for them to sell with. Whether they succeed depends on their own effort," he highlighted.
Vending machines under the People’s Income Initiative that help people generate their own incomeRafizi added that he hopes to expand the IPR concept through a network of social enterprise outlets under his PKR campaign banner, Ayuh Malaysia.
He said such a move is necessary to ensure that the public is not solely dependent on the government to open up opportunities for more low-income groups to generate earnings.
Launched in 2023, the IPR aims to lift B40 households above the poverty line by providing them with opportunities to earn at least RM2,000 a month, whether through food vending, farming contracts, or micro-entrepreneurship. - Mkini

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