{"id":34725,"date":"2026-04-16T12:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T04:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/?p=34725"},"modified":"2026-04-25T12:01:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T04:01:17","slug":"eric-tay-welcomes-sarawak-aid-package-calls-for-stronger-coordination-on-cost-of-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/?p=34725","title":{"rendered":"Eric Tay welcomes Sarawak aid package, calls for stronger coordination on cost of living"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>MBKS Councillor Eric Tay has welcomed the Sarawak government\u2019s RM876.2 million aid package, describing it as a timely response to rising living costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said global uncertainties, especially fluctuations in energy prices, have pushed up transportation, food, and daily expenses, placing pressure on the people. In this situation, the state\u2019s proactive assistance helps ease short term burdens and reflects a people focused approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe commend the Sarawak government for taking decisive action at a critical time. This will help stabilise livelihoods and boost public confidence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tay noted that the package includes RM680 million for the Sarawak Basic Needs Assistance with RM1100 for households, RM600 for senior citizens, and RM375 for single individuals. It also includes up to 25 per cent electricity discounts and a 50 per cent reduction in rental for markets and stalls under local authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese measures provide immediate relief and help reduce recurring expenses, especially electricity costs which directly affect monthly spending,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, he pointed out that the cost of living issue involves broader structural factors such as transportation, airfares, supply chains, and taxation, which fall under federal jurisdiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe hope both the federal and Sarawak governments can strengthen coordination to better address the rising cost of living,\u201d he said, adding that the state can continue implementing targeted policies to support the rakyat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>MBKS Councillor Eric Tay has welcomed the Sarawak government\u2019s RM876.2 million aid package, describing it as a timely response to rising living costs. He said global uncertainties, especially fluctuations in energy prices, have pushed up transportation, food, and daily expenses, placing pressure on the people. In this situation, the state\u2019s proactive assistance helps ease short term burdens and reflects a people focused approach. \u201cWe commend the Sarawak government for taking decisive action at a critical time. This will help stabilise livelihoods and boost public confidence,\u201d he said. Tay noted that<a href=\"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/?p=34725\" class=\"read-more\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34725"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34726,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34725\/revisions\/34726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suppnewsportal.com\/main\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}