SIK, May 20 — About 4,511 low-income mothers in Kedah received special financial assistance for the purchase of basic necessities and health benefits through the Kasih Ibu Darul Aman (KIDA) programme which was launched today.

Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Mahathir said the selected recipients would be given RM250 a month to buy basic necessities and RM500 a year for family healthcare expenses.

"KIDA’s main objective is to cover the cost of living through financial assistance to purchase basic necessities and healthcare benefits for the poor and hardcorde poor mothers in this state.

"The Federal government through the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) has allocated RM30 million to conduct KIDA programmes for this year,” he told reporters after launching the programme here today.

 Mukhriz said, each recipient selected via the eKasih system will be given a RM250 KIDA card a month to buy basic necessities at 100 grocery stores and a RM500 KIDA card a year for family healthcare expenses at 78 clinics registered under the programme.

 "This cashless smart card can only can be used for purchasing at retail stores and private clinics appointed by the state government. We expect the number of recipients to increase after this but we will only select those who are really eligible.

"Besides, the KIDA’s list of recipients will be reviewed annually to consider the eligibility of the recipient,” he said.

In order to ensure holistic and inclusive poverty eradication, Mukhriz said, NCIA will also seek new ways by introducing human capital development and entrepreneurship programmes which includes ‘EmpowerNCER@ Kedah’ and ‘Entrepreneur @ Kedah’.

"The programme is expected to assist in increasing household income of KIDA recipient families by providing skills opportunities and entrepreneurial training especially for their children to help them break free from the clutches of poverty,” he said. — Bernama