The Sejahtera Madani initiative is the main driving force behind the government's efforts to eradicate hardcore poverty, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the initiative includes financial assistance and support in goods, services, and training.
"This is a positive effort coordinated by the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister's Department (ICU). In addition to the existing poverty eradication programme, we will focus on addressing urban poverty," he said on Thursday (July 24) after launching the Sejahtera Madani programme at the Seri Perdana Kompleks.
Sejahtera Madani is a programme run by the ICU to assist poor and hardcore households registered in the eKasih system.
The Deputy Prime Minister added that the initiative is a step forward in addressing hardcore poverty but stressed the need for follow-up actions by the government.
"Normally, when we want to tackle poverty, we should view it this way: we shouldn't just try to give fish, we need to give the fishing rod so the people will know how to fish," he said.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said the national initiative aims to fight hardcore poverty.
"Programmes like this align with our public service reform agenda, which is to strengthen synergy between the public and private sector, especially those linked to GLCs, GLiCs, and others," he said.
More than 30 companies, including the Weststar Group, YTL Corporation Berhad, Berjaya Corporation Berhad, MMC Corporation Berhad, and Genting Berhad, have contributed to the initiative.
Earlier, Anwar announced that more than RM120mil was collected under the newly launched Sejahtera Madani initiative.
