KUCHING, April 30: A consolidated fund amounting to RM20,000 will be put in place by Democratic Action Party (DAP)’s Bandar Kuching and Stampin service centers to assist eligible hawker stall owners located within the vicinity of Covid-19 clusters.
Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen and Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, in a joint statement today, said the fund would be managed transparently and fully utilised for such financial assistance purposes only.
To kickstart the project, they said registrations would be open at 8am tomorrow (May 1) for eligible hawker stall owners at Icom Square whose businesses have been adversely affected by the recently declared Icom Cluster.
“We will be on the ground to help those eligible to register and the funds will be distributed to the hawkers as soon as possible.
“We understand that the token that we give may be of a small amount to most people and that we only have very limited funds available for the programme.
“However, we hope that this act will raise the necessary awareness towards the importance of compliance to SOPs (standard operating procedures) and the profound effects for any non-compliance,” they said.
Noting that the declaration of Covid-19 clusters within certain areas such as the previous Sentosa Cluster, Seladah Cluster and Green Hill Cluster have affected all businesses in Mile 7, Gala City and Jalan Green Hill area respectively.
The same is now happening to those in Icom Square.
While starting their own programme to help the people, Chong and Dr Yii called upon the Sarawak government to implement similar initiatives on a larger and more comprehensive scale to help alleviate the burdens caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Not only for eateries and restaurants, they urged for the government to also include different legitimate businesses who are also victims during these dire times such as gyms, entertainment centres, reflexology and spa centers.
“Good governance is measured when resources are properly distributed to the people especially during a time of need.
“There is no point claiming that they are a caring government if they do not help the people when they are struggling the most even with billions sitting in their accounts,” they added. — DayakDaily
