M'sia Not Welfare State But Provides Social Safety Net For Welfare Protection - PM Najib

KLANG (Selangor, Malaysia), Feb 6 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak says although Malaysia is not a welfare state, the government still provides a social safety net to protect the welfare of the people, including the less fortunate. He said through the social safety net policy which focused mainly on welfare, a more just and equitable society in terms of sharing the nation's wealth could be created. "We should feel empathy for groups like the disabled and less fortunate. That is why the government implements the social safety network although we are not a welfare state," he said. Najib also drew attention to the fact that many welfare states in the world eventually faced serious economic problems. He was speaking at a Chap Goh Mei celebration held here Monday, the 15th day of the Chinese New Year, which was attended by about 1,500 of the disabled, senior citizens and orphans from all races. The prime minister said the social safety net was provided through, among others, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry. "We carry out the 1Karisma programme with an annual allocation of RM1.4 billion to help the less fortunate like the disabled, single mothers and others." Najib said the government also carried out various other initiatives such as the schooling aid of RM100 for each pupil and the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), which for the first time in the nation's history, saw the government giving out RM500 to each household earning less than RM3,000 monthly. "Almost 80 per cent of households will receive the BR1M. We have allocated a huge sum of RM2.6 billion to help the people." Najib also said that the government encouraged organisations and private companies as well as government-linked companies to undertake corporate social responsibility programmes. He said these programmes could be carried out by way of public and private partnerships. Today's event -- an initiative between the government and public sector - saw the channelling of RM10,000 in aid to 50 welfare and charitable bodies throughout Selangor, with the total sum amounting to RM500,000. Besides the private sector, individuals should also contribute to the less fortunate, said Najib. He added that more jobs should be provided for the disabled as they could actually succeed in life if given the opportunity. The prime minister referred to disabled student Muhammad Hadi Darus who scored 9As in the Penilaian Menengah Rendah 2011 examination and was also one of the award recipients at the national-level Maulidur Rasul celebration Sunday. "He is among the examples we should be proud of....we need to help them lead a more meaningful life," Najib said. The prime minister said Malaysians must be people who have mutual love and enable to understand the feelings of the less fortunate who needed help in order to become self-reliant. He said such a spirit was imbued in the 1Malaysia concept, which took into consideration the needs of all races and groups. "The aid handed out today shows the less fortunate are very much a part of our society and that many quarters are concerned and want to assist them," he added. -- BERNAMA