BY JACINTHA JOLENE
KUCHING: Batu Lintang SUPP chairman Sih Hua Tong has lauded the Social Welfare Department (JKM) for organising the Sejambak Kasih programme in conjunction with the coming Chinese New Year celebration.
Sih also commended state Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah for supporting community projects and activities.
“She is the perfect person to hold such a position, especially for showing how much she cares about the community,” Sih said in his speech on Wednesday (Jan 26).
He also said the programme was not just a platform to provide aid alone but also for emphasising the value of compassion and empathy for those who are less fortunate.
He also noted that from his observation for the past 10 years, the services offered by JKM to the targeted group were efficient and client-oriented.
“Staff had shown top customer service and application process has been swift and well-organised.
“It is true that there is room for improvement but we can see their hard work, which is highly commendable.”
Sih also took this opportunity to touch on the citizenship issue that affected some children.
“These children faced a lot of difficulties and have to wait for a lengthy period before receiving approval.
“It does not only affect the subject (the children) but also affect the entire family.
“A lot of effort is needed to solve this issue and the process itself is pretty tedious, especially to get approval from the federal government.”
Sih urged the federal government to give the state government full authority to solve this issue.
