KUALA LUMPUR — Two million youths aged 18 to 20, and full-time students aged 21 and above, will receive the benefits of the E-Pemula, an e-wallet credit programme, as its one-off credit will be increased to RM200 next year.

When tabling the Supply Bill 2023 in the Dewan Rakyat today, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz stated that the programme will continue, involving RM400 million in allocation, an increase from the original amount of RM150, as part of improvement efforts.

Reactions to the announcement have been mixed, as some on Twitter have praised the increased but prefer a wage increase or basic income over an e-Pemula increase.

Furthermore, he stated that the Social Security Organisation (Socso) employment initiative will be provided to employers who hired youths aged 18 to 30, who had been looking for work for more than three months.

This initiative is also extended to employers who hire graduates of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

“To encourage more young people to do business, a total of RM305 million will be provided as special loan facilities for youths through SME Bank, Tekun (National Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund), Mara (Majlis Amanah Rakyat), BSN (Bank Simpanan Nasional) and Agrobank,” he said.

Furthermore, the Finance Minister stated that RM50 million will be provided through BSN for the Skim Penjaja Muda Keluarga Malaysia, which provides loans of up to RM50,000 to ten thousand young people to generate their own income, such as operating a food truck business.

Tengku Zafrul stated that the government agreed to bear the licence fee under the MyPSV programme, as well as the B2 class motorcycle driving licence fee, to assist B40 youth who generate income through services such as taxis, buses, and e-hailing.

“To encourage youths to work, the Tekun Youth Mobilepreneur Scheme continues, with an RM10 million fund to finance the capital of young individuals involved in delivery services using motorcycles,” he said.

Meanwhile, he also announced that the Malaysian Family Youth Package, which helps youths get a pre-paid internet data plan subscription package for RM30 for a period of three months, has been extended until April 2023. — Bernama

More to come …

The post Budget 2023: E-Pemula Credit Increased, Gov’t To Pay E-Hailing Licence Fee first appeared on NMH.

KPWKM in a statement today said its Minister, Rina Mohd Harun, has ordered eight JKM Disaster Supplies Storage Depots (DSKB) to be on standby and ensure that the basic disaster relief items and additional necessities are always sufficient.

“The minister has also reminded there should be no delay in helping the victims so as not to cause distress among the disaster victims,“ read the statement.

It added that Rina was at the JKM Central Zone DSKB in Sungai Buloh today to ensure the required preparations were in order since JKM has been directed to make immediate procurement of additional supply of basic necessities to replenish supplies as most of the stocks available at the Sungai Buloh DKSB had been used up during the recent flood disaster.

According to KPW there are eight DSKBs in the country which are located in Kedah, Selangor, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Sarawak and Sabah, besides the 165 state disaster stores or mini depots as well as 521 forwarding base stores.

It said KPWKM through JKM is prepared to open another 500 relief centres nationwide, in line with the need for more effective management of disaster victims.

The Ministry is also identifying the relief centres that could be used as a forwarding base to function as a store for the community to speed up the process of distributing aid to disaster victims.

“In this regard, another 200 new forwarding bases have been set up especially in Selangor and Johor,“ read the statement.

To date, 95 relief centres are still operating in six states across the country to shelter victims of floods and landslides, comprising 12,758 people from 3,830 families.

KPWKM has also been appointed to lead the Social Rehabilitation Committee established under the Special Operations and Post-Flood Task Force to help rebuild morale and provide psychosocial support to victims affected by the flood disaster. – New Malaysia Herald

The post Second Wave Of Floods Expected, Ministry On Red Alert first appeared on NMH.

KUALA LUMPUR: Many welfare homes are being either operated by the government or well-funded organisations, such as churches.

It’s very rare to see such a home being operated by an individual who cares for the poor and needy people.

One such compassionate person is 51-year-old Datuk A Vinodt @ Nagaraju.

Vinodt has been operating a welfare home of his own in Kepong here under his organisation, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Kanak-Kanak Kepong Kuala Lumpur, since 1998.

For the past 23 years, his home has nurtured and taken care of some 100 orphans, mostly children, single mothers and abandoned senior citizens.

“I’m from a poor family. So I can feel the pain of poverty. This is the reason why my brother started this home.

“We want to share our income and care for the unfortunate and needy people like orphaned or abandoned children, single mothers and senior citizens,” said Vinodt.

Like other homes, Vinodt’s self-funded home has not been spared by the current financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But he is a bit relieved for getting help from other sources.

“We are fortunate now that certain kind-hearted people and organisations are extending their contributions, especially grocery items, for our home,” said Vinodt.

Currently, the home takes care of 35 children, aged between five and 18, and 10 senior citizens, including a handicapped person.

Of the children, 22 are still schooling between Standard 1 and Form 5.

“Most of these children were from broken families. Over the years we have given shelter to some 60 children.

“Some have even excelled in tertiary education and became graduates. Some have ventured into various businesses,” said Vinodt.

All the children call Vinodt as ‘Appa’, which means father in Tamil.

“I am proud to be the father of these orphans and abandoned children. It’s an honour,” Vinodt proudly added.

As Vinodt feeds needy people, it’s food for thought for many people on how much they care and share with others. – New Malaysia Herald

The post Datuk Vinodt – A Compassionate Man Who Cares For The Needy first appeared on NMH.