Press Statement by Member of Parliament for Segambut, Hannah Yeoh on 5 November 2020

1. This morning in Parliament, Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) admitted that there are more than 2,000 welfare aid applications to the Department of Social Welfare (JKM) that are yet to be processed in the Federal Territories. During this scathing Covid-19 pandemic, the number of welfare aid applications will surely increase as many have lost their source of income.

2. A few days ago, KPWKM Minister Rina Harun launched a new programme called ‘Kembara Prihatin Negara’ targeting 1 million aid recipients. I urge the Minister and Deputy Minister of KPWKM to not launch any new products or programmes when KPWKM’s basic services can’t even operate effectively during this Covid-19 era.

3. Civil servants at the state level require assistance from KPWKM at the Federal level to assist them in handling the increase in workload. These civil servants are ‘frontliners’ that have never stopped working since the Movement Control Order (MCO) started in March 2020. The Minister and her Deputy should find a solution in improving JKM’s basic services. This is critical considering those that have applied and are waiting for aid are mostly senior citizens, individuals with disabilities and families with children.

4. I would also like to request confirmation on whether KPWKM have immediately excluded the child protection team from administrative or other similar duties so that child abuse cases could be handled swiftly. This was an issue that I raised in the last Parliamentary sitting. The child protection team carry immense responsibilities so that no children would lose their lives as they are defenceless and are unable to save themselves from violence.

Hannah Yeoh,
Member of Parliament for Segambut.