RM50 million expansion of Rahmah initiative will lighten burden of rural folk in Sabah, Sarawak

KUALA LUMPUR - The additional allocation of RM50 million to expand the Rahmah initiative to all state constituencies throughout the country is seen to be able to reduce the cost of living for the rural communities of Sabah and Sarawak.

Head of the Elopura Chinese community in Sandakan, Sabah, Captain James Leong said the additional provision shows the government’s commitment to safeguarding the welfare of various layers of society in the state of Sabah.

"It is hoped that those with high incomes do not take advantage of the government’s generosity in spreading the safety net,” he told Bernama here today.

Yesterday, the government approved an additional allocation of RM50 million to expand the Rahmah initiative to every state constituency across the country so that more people can benefit from it.

Leong also thinks that the Rahmah initiative introduced by the government has inspired various companies and corporate bodies to introduce products cheaper than the current prices.

Lumadan assemblyman Datuk Ruslan Muharam said the Rahmah initiative that has been proven successful earlier also helped traders to attract more customers to buy necessities from their outlets in Sabah.

Meanwhile, Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau in Sarawak praised the Unity Government’s move because the initiative was previously focused on only helping the B40 group in the cities and university students.

"The Rahmah initiative is very beneficial for the community, but if you look at it (before the additional initiative), it did not have a big impact in the interior of Sarawak or state assembly areas such as Telang Usan which has many B40 residents,” he said.

In the meantime, Katibas assemblyman Lidam Assan said the prices of essential goods in rural towns such as in his constituency are higher than in cities like Sibu due to the cost of transportation to deliver the goods.

"With the additional allocation to hold Rahmah Sales under the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), there will be less burden for low-income people in the interior to buy essential goods," he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, Marudi assemblyman Datuk Dr Penguang Manggil, who is also Sarawak’s Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, said additional allocations for the Rahmah initiative need to be channelled transparently with full faith in all assemblymen so that the initiative achieves its objectives. - BERNAMA