KUCHING, June 8 — Some 472,923 households in the state that are affected by the movement control order (MCO) are eligible for food assistance under the Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang 6.0 (BKSS 6.0) financial aid package Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg said today.
He said 49,811 or 10.5 per cent of the households have already received the food assistance based on the statistics collected from the various Divisional Disaster Management Committees (DDMCs) as of yesterday afternoon.
“The targeted date of completion for the food assistance distribution is June 11 and as such, we seek the understanding of all those who are still waiting to receive the assistance, as the distribution logistics are our challenging, with different areas requiring different modes of transport of air, land, sea, or a combination of these,” he said.
The chief minister was speaking at a press conference after a symbolic launching of the food assistance distribution to households affected by the MCO which was enforced on May 29 until June 14, at Kampung Haji Baki here.
He said the state government has approved a total of RM1.4 billion under the BKSS 6.0 packages to assist the people during these trying pandemic times.
He added one of the packages under BKSS 6.0 is the provision of food assistance to households affected by MCO, especially those who are under the B40 category.
He added each of the 82 Sarawak state constituencies will receive a minimum allocation of RM250,000.
However, he said for the constituencies with more households, they will be allocated according to the number of targeted households, especially those who are in the B40 category.
The chief minister said the state government has allocated RM35.5 million to purchase and deliver the food assistance.
Abang Johari thanked the food committee, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, the various divisional disaster committees, local councils, community leaders, village development and security committees, non-governmental organisations and the relevant federal and state government agencies for their cooperation to ensure timely delivery of food to the affected areas and households.
“We are mindful that this food distribution must adhere strictly to the Covid-19 MCO standard operating procedures,” he said
