Selangor allocates over half a billion ringgit for second people's aid package

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government has announced a second financial aid package worth RM551.56mil for the people.

The state government announced the first RM73.877mil Pakej Kita Selangor in January this year.

"This package will take care of the welfare and well-being of the people of Selangor, to ensure economic and business sustainability and lastly to arrest the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, '' said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari when announcing the Pakej Kita Selangor 2.0 in Shah Alam on Wednesday (June 9).

Besides the three main thrusts of the package, Amirudin said the package would also initiate 25 programmes to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the state's people and businesses.

Under the first strategy, the food basket initiative will be extended to all low-income groups as well as those adversely affected by the lockdown.

Groceries will be distributed to the people through 56 state assembly constituencies.

The financial allocation to assemblymen to service their constituents was also increased to RM100, 000 regardless if the elected representatives were from the state government or the Opposition.

The beneficiaries of this aid are B40 families, bus and school van drivers, taxi and tour bus drivers, single mothers, people who have lost their jobs and members of the disabled community.

"The food basket initiative is also extended to Covid-19 patients who will additionally receive a home assessment tool kit for the purpose of home quarantine, '' said Amirudin.

The home assessment tool will have N95 face masks, thermometer, oximeter, medicines and saliva test kits.

In a press conference later, Amirudin said the Selangor state government wanted to help the Federal Government expedite the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

"We will be receiving about 2.5 million doses of vaccine until the end of the year and we believe we can expedite the process and can also vaccinate younger recipients, '' he said.

He said the main exercise and data came under the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force while the state's task would be to prepare logistics and manpower to manage as well coordinate vaccination centres.

As for vaccines purchased by the state government, Amirudin said the agreement had already been signed with the manufacturer and some 500, 000 doses can be expected by June this year.

Amirudin did not state which manufacturer it would be from but said it is one of the three currently used in the national programme.

"We will make the announcement, once we have briefed the Federal Government about it, '' said Amirudin.