PUTRAJAYA: The Prime Minister wants a new and effective approach in providing social protection coverage to the people, and emphasised on the need to have a social protection database so that protection and aid can be handed out effectively.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the database, when available, will be the sole reference point for social protection programmes and will cover various aspects including employment, social insurance and social assistance.
“This is in line with my intention for an effective approach in providing social protection coverage that is more comprehensive, especially for the vulnerable groups,” he said in Facebook posting after chairing the Malaysian Social Protection Council (MySPC) via video conference.
The council, which was set up in 2016, had its last meeting in December 2019. It has been reactivated, and aims at coordinating social wellbeing agenda so that it will be more comprehensive and integrated, particularly to fight poverty.
MySPC’s membership comprises 15 ministries, Chief Secretary to the Government, Bank Negara Governor and the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department.
The Prime Minister said that the meeting yesterday focused on expanding and strengthening the country’s social security network.
This includes, among others, a proposal to expand the Social Security Organisation’s protection scheme to groups that are not covered by any other social security networks.
“Those who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and groups that are not protected by any of the country’s social safety networks, including the self-employed and workers in the informal sector must have their needs identified so that immediate and the right aid can be given to them.
“By strengthening and expanding the social safety networks via MySPC, I believe many more households under the poor and hardcore poor can be aided and protected,” said Muhyiddin.
The Prime Minister pointed out that social assistance should not be limited to cash aids and food basket assistance, but should also cover social mobility and be value-added to help increase their income.
Separately in Shah Alam, Muhyiddin said the Muslim world must play a more proactive role to ensure the “Worldview of Islam” or Islam’s vision of existence continues to be properly studied.
He said it is for this reason the government had adopted the Manhaj Rabbani – the Divine Path or Approach – which is now an overarching government policy framework for Islamic affairs in Malaysia to give more authenticity and substance to the development of the country in the 21st century, reported Bernama.
“Our Muslim scholars and universities are crucial in realising the agenda of Manhaj Rabbani in Malaysia, where we hope a more ethical and spirituality fulfilling atmosphere can emerge in our country.
“This demands our universities to take into account the need to nurture men and women of adab or good human beings,” he said while officiating the International Conference on Contemporary Islamic Studies 2021 (ICIS2021) held virtually yesterday.
The conference was organised by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).
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