Social safety net for all

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has launched the Keluarga Malaysia or Malaysian Family squad that will coordinate all aid delivery mechanisms to help those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Saying that no one will be left behind, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the squad would be led by the Social Welfare Department under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry.

He said that the squad would be a collaboration between agencies under various ministries, the private sector, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“For today’s event, about 10,000 individuals are ready to be mobilised to every corner of the country to help those affected by the pandemic.

“This number is expected to increase when more ministries and agencies, as well as volunteers register themselves,” he said in a speech during the soft launch of the Malaysian Family concept at Angkasapuri here yesterday.

Also present were members of the Cabinet and government officials.

Ismail Sabri added that to ensure the success of the Malaysian Family concept, every ministry and agency were identifying suitable products to be adopted as part of efforts to help the people.

“This is a step to inculcate a culture of service that is performance-oriented to alleviate the burden of Malaysian families who need help and support,” he said.

He added that to ensure every Malaysian Family product or service had a positive impact, the government also introduced a Key Happiness Outcome (KHO) mechanism that would complement the key performance indicators (KPIs).

“These guidelines will be based on existing universal values, including the Happiness Index applicable to most countries around the world,” he said.

Ismail Sabri first unveiled the Malaysian Family approach in his inaugural speech as Prime Minister on Aug 22, as he invited Malaysians to set aside their differences and come together to lift the country to greater heights and help realise the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030.

He said then that the Malaysian Family was an inclusive concept that cut across religious, ethnic and racial boundaries, so all Malaysians would come together as a unified family.

The official launch of the Malaysian Family is scheduled for Oct 22 in Kuching, Sarawak.

Ismail Sabri also said that the Malaysian Family had three components – inclusivity, common ground, and contentment.

He said that the tolerance between Malaysians of different religions, ethnicity, and races had been existent for many years.

“However, it won’t be easy to defend the umbrella of tolerance if the Malaysian Family sidelines values, as this can cause conflict and differences. I would like to remind you again that our priority is to fight the health and economic crisis, regardless of who is affected by the disaster.

“Efforts to restore this country will be achieved by continuing to cultivate, sow and maintain the characteristics of inclusivity, common ground and contentment that we have,” he added.