Uncertain fate for over 100 welfare aid recipients

KOTA KINABALU: SAPP claims it has gathered evidence of over 100 recipients of the Federal-funded Old Age Assistance Scheme (BOT) and Assistance for Disabled Persons (OKUs) who have been left, in limbo over the payments.

"After Daily Express highlighted the cases recently, we followed up with the department (State Public Welfare Services Department) on the status of 141 people from Penampang and Luyang who applied before 2009, of whom 24 were approved and the rest (117) had no replies until today" Sabah Progressive Party Vice-President Melanie Chia Chui Ket told a press conference, Thursday.

She showed the list to the media at the party's headquarters in Luyang, here, saying it was in a written reply dated October 2009 from the Deparbment via email.

"'According to the reply, of the 141 applicants, 14 were already receiving welfare. Then we confirmed that there were an additional 10 people who were approved, making a total of 24 recipients.

"The rest (117) had no replies except for the remark akan disiasat (will be investigated) or masih disiasat (still under investigation) in the tabulation.

"From 2008 and even earlier, my office had submitted applications from time to time. Subsequently, I inquired over the phone or wrote in but we got a reply only in October 2009," she said.

According to Chia, two of the remaining 117 applicants had passed away without actually getting any approval. They were Chong Chee Nee @ Chong Lee Foh (born in 1948) and Lim Siow Tang (born in 1926) who lived in Luyang.

"Another applicant, Chin Nyuk Len @ Ellen, now 72, applied in 2003 but has yet to get a reply. The remark was Akan disiasat (will be investigated) in the October 2009 list," she said.

One Miss Hiew, 42, from Luyang, who is unable to work following a stroke, applied for assistance in 2001 but has yet to receive a reply, according to Chia (not in the list of 141 applicants).

"The issue is that if an applicant has a house, he or she is not qualified, But in urban areas, a lot of elderly people stay with their sons (who have families of their own) or relatives. The house does not belong to the applicants," she said.

Chia felt that needy people should not be shortchanged anymore.

"With technology and update of skills, this problem should be non-existent. If they cau put in place a proper management system for the Federal-funded Old Age Assistance (BOT) and Assistance for Disabled Persons (OKUs), it can also take away the doubt on any pilferage and malpractice.”

She said her office, in particular the Luyang Constituency Liaison Committee, has acted as a "bridge" to make it easier for the people in dealing with welfare aid applications.

"We have provided and are still providing the necessary services to old folks and needy groups. As far as welfare cases are concerned, we have sometimes sent them to the Welfare Office to collect the application forms and helped to fill them," she said.

"We are not saying the Government is not doing anything. And neither are we just making noise as claimed by the Government. We are constructive here," she said.

SAPP Member of Parliament for Tawau, Datuk Chua Soon Bui, also received complaints from recipients there who have not received their BOT or OKU aid from May to July this year.

"In handling hundreds of cases in Tawau, I have actually gone to the people's homes to look at the situation myself. Many of them are very poor and have no food in the kitchen, but are not getting help.

"I took the trouble to visit and take photographs of these people's living conditions and forwarded them to the Deputy Minister of Women, Family & Community, Senator Heng Seai Kie. I have been doing that since 2008. I even wrote to her to say there should be no more excuse like the address tidak dapat dikesan (cannot be traced). Come to my office," she said.

Chua said she has contacted Senator Heng regarding the cases.

"She told me there are 72,500 recipients in Sabah. And based on the Sabah report, 129 people did not get their aid in May, and likewise, 114 in June this year, the reason being that their accounts were not active, especially the new cases.

"They are going to fine-tune to activate the accounts. But from the ground, the complaints I received are not specifically related to just one district. It seems that the situation is all over Sabah. So if the report given to me is correct, then where did the money go for May up to now?" she queried.

Chia, meanwhile, sought clarification from Heng on what the latter meant by "the accounts are not active". "Is it because the recipients have passed away? How can you have accounts not active when money is supposed to be banked in?"

Chua contended that any welfare assistance fund has been budgeted by the Prime Minister in the Parliament, so they (welfare authorities) should be accountable.

"It's the people's right to receive the money and not being held. Every time there is a delay, the Ministry or department concerned should explain.

Some forced to check repeatedly

"In the cases that we (SAPP) have encountered, they have to go to the department repeatedly, sometimes a few times in a month to check on their welfare aid."

The party is also alarmed over the report by the Barisan Nasional (BN) Member of Parliament from Labuan that some of the e-kasih recipients are IMM13 holders (Filipinos).

"From my side, we also have submitted a lot of e-kasih applications. But it seems that there is a lot of ‘double standard' in approving, their reason being that the address tidak dapat dikesan (address is not clear)."

In the Sabah context, Chua said unfortunately, in the rural areas, there is no institutionalisation on addresses.

"For example, even in the I.C., the address is stated at Kg Rangu but there is no House Number. However, if the application for welfare aid is signed by me as the people's elected representative, they (department) should come back to me if they can't find the applicant."

The MP claimed that a lot of assistance through e-kasih registration was not reaching the people.

"So how does the Government ensure that the poverty rate is going to be reduced if the basic assistance fund is not channeled to the needy?"

SAPP Youth Executive Committee, John Stephen, urged the Government to review the policy, criterion and strircture of the Federal-funded Old Age and OKU Assistance Schemes.

"The slow process is burdening the old and needy and this should be minimised. With modern technology, why don't the Government synchronise the system to improve efficiency? We believe many people are qualified and eligible for welfare assistance but they are deprived of the schemes."

Given the cument state of affairs, SAPP said its Wanita and Youth Movements would consider a campaign to assist applicants of welfare aid.

Senior citizens, needy and disabled persons whose applications have been approved but have not received the aid for the past few months or those who have yet to apply are advised to approach SAPP Wanita or Youth at the party's headquarters in Luyang, Kota Kinabalu.

"We, Wanita, Youth and CLC (Constituency Liaison Committee) Network, are going to thrash it out. A lot of the OKUs rely on welfare aid for subsistence. Maybe to the top people, $300 is not a lot of money but to the recipients, it is their bread and butter," said Tawau MP Chua.

Chia cited the case of Siaw Chee Yin @ Francis Siaw, 61, of No. 57, Jalan Pantai, KK, (not in the list of 141 applicants) who is in crutches after a fall some years ago. The party had helped him to apply for OKU aid amounting to RM150 per month but it was stopped in July last year, forcing him to run a food stall for survival. His wife Chin Nyuk Yin, 57, is a cencer survivor. Siaw's aid was reinstated in April this year, which was only learned a few year ago.

According to Chia, Chin is equally eligible for aid but she doesn't receive it because of the rule that only either of a couple can get assistance.
"Rules are made by man but we must have some degree of emotional intelligence when dealing with disadvantaged groups.

"When i met Francis early this year, he complained to me about the discontinuation in July last year. Then we informed the Welfare Office about it. Knowing this is a needy case, why did the department stop the aid? And had we not called, would his case have been re-validated?

"When he came to the SAPP Headquarters three days ago, we called up the Welfare Office again, and the officer said, Oh, Sudah dilulus. Kenapa dia tidak datang (Oh, already approved. Why didn't he come?)," she told reporters.

"But why didn't they (department) inform Francis that it was approved in April? Look for him. The problem with the department is that they always wait for people to go there.

"But the needy, old people and OKUs can't go there themselves because they need others to send them to the office. The department cannot say they can't reach out to them. For example, I could reach Francis. He has a hand phone number."

Mary Chin