Ten Disabled Enterpreneurs Recieved 'Starting Grant' of RM2,700 each

TEN people in Perak were granted RM2,700 each as an initial grant for them to start small businesses.

State Welfare Department director Chong Phaik Kee said three of them were disabled while seven were from poor backgrounds.

Chong said this was one way to help the needy and the disabled to stand on their own two feet and not to rely permanently on the department for help.

Among the recipients of the grants known as ‘Geran Pelancaran’ was seamstress Fauziah Hani Abdullah, 30, who said the grant would enable her to develop her business to greater heights: “I thank the department for taking care of my needs.”

Wheelchair-bound Mohamad Ali Shamsudin, 59, who has a motorcycle repair workshop, said he could now expand his business with the grant and buy necessary accessories.

Mohamad Amin Ahmad, 47, who also operates a workshop, said the aid was timely to develop his business for the future.

“I am grateful to the department for bringing me to this level, to ensure that I am independent enough to run my own business,” he said.

Chong said for last year, a total of 30,943 needy people were provided with the grants.

“This is a one-off grant for those who want to start a small business or expand it further.

“Each time we get an allocation from the Federal or state government, we will check from our lists on who requires the most assistance.

“We want to instil the importance of being independent, just like the proverb ‘give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” she said.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Senator Heng Seai Kie said providing grants was among the many programmes by the ministry to ensure the needy and the disabled were independent and capable of running their own businesses.

Heng said the aid should not be regarded as a lifetime help.

“We are only helping the target groups on survival skills. Once they are stable in their endeavours and can earn a steady income, then aid would be given to others,” she said, adding that poverty did not only strike those living in rural areas but also in urban towns.