Five core areas of Rahmah Initiative to cover basic needs of B40 group, Dewan Rakyat told

PETALING JAYA: The Rahmah initiative will cover five main areas and will be implemented in stages starting from this month, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh said the initiative was meant to help those in need to have access to basic essentials, especially from the lower-income group.

Besides the more widely publicised Menu Rahmah, its components also include the Rahmah Basket programme which provides food baskets containing basic necessities valued at RM100.

"The baskets contain essential items such as rice, flour, cooking oil, sugar and eggs and will be distributed by our strategic partners to the hardcore poor every month," she told Datuk Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) during Question Time.

Rosol had asked the ministry to reveal its short-, mid- and long-term plans to tackle the cost of living.

Fuziah said another initiative is the Rahmah Sale programme in which major supermarkets will hold cheap sales throughout the year.

"For this purpose, the ministry will issue a cheap sale notice permit for the initiative of up to a maximum of four months, compared to one month at present," she said.

The Rahmah Package programme, which will also involve hypermarkets, will offer basic consumer goods packaged together.

"For example, a package of essential items costing RM70 will be sold to consumers for just RM50," she explained.

The other two initiatives are the Cafe Rahmah and Menu Rahmah programmes.

Under Rahmah Cafe, affordable food is provided to public university students and free meals to the hardcore poor.

Early this month, the ministry launched Menu Rahmah, which offers a complete meal for RM5. Some 15,000 food outlet operators are participating in the initiative.

Fuziah gave an assurance that the unity government would prioritise the groups most affected by rising costs.

"The mechanism to distribute subsidies is more controlled to ensure leakages will be reduced.

"These are among the proactive measures taken by the government aside from enforcement aspects by the ministry's officers," she added.