KUCHING: A total of 600 more women have been extended the Sarawak Female Head of Household Assistance (KIRWaS) in the state this year.
Women, Early Childhood, and Community Well-being Development Minister, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the assistance involved an allocation of RM300,000.
“Our ministry through the Sarawak Women and Family Department (JWKS), continues entrepreneurship development programmes that include business assistance such as the KIRWaS and Sarawak Women’s Empowerment Capital Grant awards.
“The implementation of these programmes aims to provide women with business capital to engage in entrepreneurship, thereby increasing participation in the economic sector.
“For KIRWaS, this year there are 600 new recipients throughout the state involving an allocation of RM300,000, while last year, 158 women entrepreneurs in the Kuching Division received this assistance,” she said.
She also said that to ensure the effectiveness of this initiative, the ministry required recipients to generate income exceeding the Poverty Line Income (PGK) of RM2,618 per month within six months after receiving assistance.
She said this during the handing over of grants for Kuching Division-level Sarawak Women Empowerment Modal at the Federation of Chinese Association here on Wednesday.
Fatimah said as for women’s empowerment capital, it is allocated to JWKS with a grant amounting to RM2.5 million.
“It is in the form of business equipment worth RM2,000 given once to the targeted B40 group women entrepreneurs in Sarawak aged 18 and above,” she said.
In a related note, Fatimah urged women in Sarawak to have their own savings and plan early to become more independent senior citizens in the future.
“The Sarawak government provides various assistance and programmes to empower women to generate additional income.
“Based on statistics, the lifespan of women is found to be longer than men. Therefore, as the minister responsible, I annually request additional funding from the government to enable women to be involved in businesses.
“This is important as preparation for the future because we want to ensure that women have their own savings and are able to be self-reliant in spending, especially for their own healthcare,” she said.
She also called on women’s associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and community leaders to always identify women in need who are eligible to receive assistance provided by the Sarawak government to improve their socio-economic status.
