Enhanced skills training planned for women’s empowerment programme

SELANGOR plans to improve the Pusat Wanita Berdaya (PWB) programme to ensure more participants benefit from it.

State public health, unity, women and family development committee chairman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said there were plans to enhance the capacity development of PWB supervisors through various types of skills training such as online programme management, social media management skills and data analysing skills.

“We plan to develop a participant and supervisor management system to better promote PWB’s programme.

“We can then effectively share information with participants based on their constituencies and on the different government initiatives and aid for each constituency,” she said.

Dr Siti Mariah was responding to Elizabeth Wong (PH-Bukit Lanjan), who asked about measures taken to improve PWB and the remaining allocation for the programme this year.

Launched in 2012, PWB is a women’s empowerment programme carried out by respective assemblyman’s office in their constituency to empower and enable women, especially those from the B40 group, and their families.

The programme is to equip them with skills and knowledge to enable them to earn additional income and have a better quality of life.

Dr Siti Mariah said this year, a total of RM600,061.26 had been spent on PWB programmes.

“The remaining allocation for the programmes for 56 constituencies is RM2,399,938.74.

“During the movement control order, these programmes were conducted online,” she said, highlighting that this year, 109 skills programmes and 25 capacity development programmes had been conducted.

Skills programme on how to manage a food and beverage business topped the list at 63, followed by arts and crafts at 31 programmes, she added.

Later, state socio-economic development, social welfare and workers empowerment committee chairman V. Ganabatirau told the Assembly that 145,357 senior citizens had benefitted from Skim Mesra Usia Emas (SMUE) in 2020.

The scheme allowed those aged 60 and above, and disabled individuals to claim their shopping vouchers at selected supermarkets during their birthday month, he said.

In responding to a question from Datuk Rosni Sohar (BN-Hulu Bernam) on the state’s allocation and the number of recipients for SMUE last year, Ganabatirau said the state had allocated RM14.52mil for the scheme.