ISKANDAR PUTERI: The state government is denying that the special aid for fishermen in Tanjung Piai is an ‘election goodie’ intended to win support for Pakatan Harapan.
Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal said the RM1,000 special aid had been given annually to fishermen in southern Johor since 2015.
“The aid is given to fishermen affected by development in southern Johor.
“It is not something that the state government is obligated to do, but the budget is already there under the Johor Fishermen Development Fund, which was established in January 2015,” Dr Sahruddin told a press conference after the state Exco meeting today.
He said this year’s payment would be made directly to the fishermen in three phases starting next week.
A total of 1,513 fishermen will receive the aid, 432 in Gelang Patah, 537 in Pasir Gudang and Johor Baru, and 544 in Pontian and Tanjung Piai.
“There is no delay in the payment because in previous years, the payments were made in October or November.
“We have to wait for the exact data from the Fisheries Industry Development Authority before making the payments because the data changes every year,” said Dr Sahruddin.
He said there was no issue of the payment being an ‘election goodie’ as the state government was only fulfilling a promise that was made previously.
On Monday, Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub described the RM1,000 payment as a “claim” that was made by unknown sources.
Dr Sahruddin said he hoped that the aid would lighten the burden of the fishermen.