KUCHING: Allegations that hawkers have yet to receive the first tranche of RM750 in Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) 6.0 aid via Sarawak Pay are not true.
Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang in refuting such claims by Violet Yong said based on the latest BKSS 6.0 Disbursement Status of MPP, from the 2,484 licensed hawkers that have 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 State government has come up with the best platform to channel the assistance to them soon,” he said in a statement on Saturday (Sept 4).
Meanwhile, for the 2,184 unlicensed hawkers who have been verified as eligible to receive the aid, he disclosed that 1,531 of them have received their first payment through SarawakPay whereas another 192 would receive their first payment through SarawakPay very soon.
“As for 461 unlicensed hawkers who do not have the mobile application, the State government has come up with the best platform to channel the assistance to them.
“Violet has failed to understand that a lot of works and processes need to be done to verify the deserving recipients.
“The State government has never neglected the welfare of the hawkers, and all relevant officers from the Ministry of Local Government and Housing Sarawak, as well as other local authorities in the state, have been working tirelessly to provide the hawkers with the necessary assistance,” he assured.
He said the hawkers can monitor the status of their application through Talikhimat by contacting the hotline at 082-555 999, email at 555999@sarawak.gov.my. or by checking with their Local Councils in their respective areas at any time.
“They are also welcomed to contact any MPP staff or myself to check on the status of their applications and the disbursement of the aid,” he said.
He disclosed that most of the hawkers recognise the MPP staff and councillors well as they (hawkers) have always communicated with them regarding issues that they wish to resolve.
The Batu Kitang assemblyman asserted that Violet, despite claiming to be a responsible politician had only picked on alleged faults of the State government and failed to recognise its efforts over the years.
“May I ask, where is the RM2,000 for each of the rakyat which has been promised by DAP? And for the aid of RM100 each to the hawkers, how many of the hawkers have received the payment?” he questioned.
On another note, he expressed his understanding of the directives from the Divisional Health Office (DHO) which had instructed MPP to close five of its markets and trading places.
“It must be hard for them (DHO) to deliver such drastic decisions but the decision has been made fairly after taking into consideration the safety and health of the community at large.
“I would like to urge all business community to remain calm as the markets and trading places would resume operations if most traders tested negative for Covid-19.
“This (the decision) will also give everyone including the hawkers and traders, peace of mind before facilitating the resumption of the markets and businesses in a safe environment,” he said.
