Masidi in a group photo with James, Flovia and participants of the briefing.
KOTA KINABALU: Members of the State Legislative Assembly and Community Development Leader Units (UPPMs) were reminded to practice financial discipline when spending aid allocations such as the Bantuan Orang Susah (BOS).
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said that besides the responsibility of ensuring the aid allocation reaches the intended target communities, Legislative Assembly members and community development leaders (PPMs) must also complete and submit their spending reports as required to help the State Government monitor its efficacy and reach.
“The reports are also important for the related departments to keep track of efficacy and reach of the aid as well as for the Finance Ministry to maintain Sabah’s five-star financial rating, which is among the best in the country.
“The reports are not designed to trouble the YBs or PPMs, but it is one of the Government’s measures to ensure the allocations reach their intended audience or recipients,” Masidi said while speaking at the closing of a briefing by the Sabah Welfare Services Department with the UPPM here, today.
Masidi said the distribution of BOS, which is an allocation of RM100,000 for each of the 73 members of the State Legislative Assembly as well as the submission of the reports must be done consistently, and not to be kept and spent only at the end of the year.
“I hope that all PPMs will do their part in distributing the BOS fairly to people who truly need assistance,” he added.
Meanwhile, Masidi also reminded the PPMs to ensure equipment loaned to the public through the Homeward Programme under the Welfare Services Department is taken care of to maximise the number of people who can benefit from them in the long term.
“It is our hope that once the clients or patients recover, the equipment can then be loaned to others who are also eligible and are truly in need,” he added.
The Homeward loaner-cycle programme provides patients with essential healthcare equipment such as hi-lo beds, ripple mattresses, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, ward partitions, commode chairs and other equipment required by patients who are warded at home.
Also present were Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk James Ratib and his Assistant Minister Datuk Flovia Ng.
