MB: Welfare-state status for Terengganu

Wednesday September 3, 2008
MB: Welfare-state status for Terengganu

KUALA TERENGGANU: Te­rengganu is heading towards being a welfare state following the myriad monetary and education aid rendered to locals, said Mentri Besar Ahmad Said.

:The state does not intend to be endowed with such a status, but with the provision of economic assistance, it was heading towards the title, he said.

:“The poor prefer to remain at status quo. They know they have a helping hand and saviour in the state,” he said after announcing RM2.8mil in assistance for the hardcore poor to own low-cost houses here.

:With the allocation, 40 units of low-cost houses will be constructed in each district and occupied by the hardcore poor.

:Ahmad said the state allocated RM50mil annually for education through which free tuition and other goodies were provided to students.

:“Schoolchildren are provided with all kinds of assistance, including uniforms for those who can’t afford it. We want them to just concentrate in their education,” he said.

:He said the state also granted RM8,000 each to poor folks to repair their homes apart from :wang ehsan: (compassionate funds) for those earning less than RM1,500 a month during the festive season.

:“Even with the high cost of materials, we continue to subside the construction of low-cost houses so that people may buy it at a lower price,” he said.

:Ahmad said that Opposition parties had aimed for welfare-state status in their election manifestos but failed to realise that the state was already in such a status.

:“We don’t go around telling everyone about the help we render,” he said.

The STAR