Batu Kitang state assemblyman, Lo Khere Chiang sad based on the latest BKSS 6.0 Disbursement Status of MPP, from the 2,484 licensed hawkers that has been verified as eligible to receive the aid, 1,638 of them have already received their first payment through SarawakPay whereas another 97 would receive their first payment through SarawakPay very soon. For the 749 licensed hawkers who do not have SarawakPay, the Sarawak Government has come up with the best platform to channel the assistance to them soon.

He said the statement made by YB Violet Yong recently in the media on allegations that the hawkers have not received the first tranche of RM750 Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) 6.0 aid via Sarawak Pay as pledged by the State Government is not true.

As for the 2,184 unlicensed hawkers who have been verified as eligible to receive the aid, Lo pointed out that 1,531 of them have received the first payment through SarawakPay whereas another 192 would receive their first payment through SarawakPay very soon. For the 461 unlicensed hawkers who do not have SarawakPay, the Sarawak Government has come up with the best platform to channel the assistance to them soon.

He added that Violet failed to understand that a lot of works and processes needs to be done to verify the deserving recipients. The State Government has never neglected the welfare of the hawkers. The relevant officers from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing Sarawak and all the Local Authorities in the State have been working hard to render the necessary assistance to the hawkers.

“On the claim by YB Violet that since the implementation of BKSS 1.0 last year, there was no proper channel set up for the public to make enquiry about the status of their BKSS money, causing applicants to feel very helpless, this claim is not true. The hawkers can check their application status through Talikhimat via online, call the hotline: Tel: 082-555 999 or e-mail: 555999@sarawak.gov.my. At the same time, all applicants can check their application status with the Local Councils in their respective areas anytime to check on their application status. The hawkers are most welcomed to contact MPP staff or myself to check on the status of their applications and disbursement of the aid. Most of the hawkers know the MPP staff and councillors well and have always communicated with us regarding all issues they want to resolve, ” he added.

On the directive from the Divisional Heath Office instructing MPP to close our 5 markets and trading places, Lo said it must be hard for DHO to deliver such drastic decisions but again, I am sure that they do it taking into consideration the safety and health of the hawkers, the public and the community at large. Noting that the livelihoods of many traders would be adversely affected by the closure, I would like to urge all the business community to remain calm as the markets and trading places would resume their operations if most traders tested negative for covid-19. This will also give everyone including the hawkers, traders, peace of mind and facilitate the resumption of the markets and businesses in a safe environment.

60

SHARES

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us

Share

Share

Share

Share

Share