KUALA LUMPUR,: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail sayd the target group eligible for i-Suri will be expanded to include the Orang Asli community and the indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak.
Dr Wan Azizah, who is women, family and community development minister, said the ministry would be coordinating the registration application process with the related agencies, including the Orang Asli Development Department, to create a list of people eligible for the programme.
“We are aware that the Orang Asli and indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak may need this safety net, and if possible we will coordinate the system to ensure no overlapping.
“The idea is good but we have limited funds,” she told the Dewan Negara.
She was replying to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Isa Ab Hamid who wanted to know whether the list of i-Suri applicants would be extended to include the Orang Asli community who have not been included in the e-Kasih list.
The e-Kasih list is used by the government to determine eligible applicants for the i-Suri programme.
Meanwhile, in reply to the original question from Senator Asmak Husin on the programme’s achievements, Dr Wan Azizah said the ministry had targeted 100,000 women to register with the programme, which was launched in August last year, and it had met the target.
In fact, she said, as at April 30, the total number of applicants had reached 107,619.
There are three phases in the programme implementation.
The first involves voluntary contribution with government incentives through the applicants’ Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts.
“The second phase is the extension of social protection to housewives under the Social Security Organisation,” said Dr Wan Azizah.
“The third phase involves two per cent EPF contribution for housewives which will be deducted from their husband’s EPF contribution.”
She added that, for the third phase, the draft for amendment to the EPF Act 1991 had been prepared and was expected to be tabled in Parliament in July, with implementation expected to begin in the third quarter of next year. – BERNAMA