Windfall for fishermen with 'duit raya' from govt

TANJONG KARANG: Fishermen who have been facing uncertain income and are dependent on weather conditions for their livelihood are describing the government's initiative to offer the Special Aidilfitri Financial Assistance of RM200 as a "windfall".

Aid recipient Jamsari Ramsah, 44, said the assistance shows the concern of the government, especially the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, for fishermen with irregular income.

"This aid will help me and my family to prepare for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

"Even though the amount is not big, it is enough. I hope the government will continue this initiative," said the fisherman who was met by Bernama at Agrobank here on Monday (April 10) when receiving the aid.

This was echoed by his friend, Razak Yusoff, 66, who said the festive celebration this year as would be slightly bigger than the year before.

"Our income is not regular, sometimes we have nothing and like yesterday, we managed to earn only RM95. There are times we came back empty-handed. This is indeed timely assistance," said Razak, who has been a fisherman for 40 years.

On March 29, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when announcing the good news said the aid would benefit 850,000 rubber holders, padi farmers and fishermen, which would cost the government RM170mil.

The special aid of RM200 is a one-off payment and expected to benefit 38,500 fishermen and 240,000 padi farmers nationwide.

Muhammad Nor Hafiz Azizis, 32, and Halim Dan, 55 who are both inland fishermen, said they hoped the special aid would be raised from time to time in line with the rising cost of living.

Muhammad Nor Hafiz added that inland fishermen did not get the privilege of marine fishermen who enjoyed fuel subsidies.

"The special aid is enough for us. We hope the government would continue to look after our welfare," said Muhammad Nor Hafiz who focuses on river areas.

The payment to fishermen was channelled via the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia (LKIM) and the inland fishermen through the Fisheries Department. – Bernama