GEORGE TOWN: Penang has postponed payments with immediate effect to some 157,335 senior citizens under the Senior Citizens Appreciation Programme following the Covid-19 outbreak.
Of the total 191,858 recipients aged 60 and above, only 34,523 recipients have registered for the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) services while the rest usually lined up to collect the cash.
However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Penang government has decided to postpone payments to those lining up to collect the cash.
State Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the decision followed the advice from the state Health Department to prevent people from gathering in large groups for a long period of time.
“This is part of the risk management measures we are deploying in our fight against the Covid-19 outbreak.
“After a meeting with the state Health Department yesterday, it was decided that any event involving more than 100 people at a time would be postponed for now to avoid long periods of close contact with one another.
“As such, we are advising other recipients to also register for the EFT services so we can bank in the money directly into their account. The cut-off period is June 30,” he told newsmen here today.
For the 34,523 recipients who had registered for the use of the EFT, their money had been deposited into their accounts on Feb 17.
As for the remaining recipients from 40 state constituencies, only recipients from the Batu Uban and Pinang Tunggal constituencies had received their money.
Each senior citizen will receive RM150.
Phee said based on past experiences, the recipients would line up as early as 7am although they were told to come only at 10am.
“So, this is the kind of thing we want to avoid. This was raised at the state executive councillor’s meeting and all agreed that the originally scheduled payment programme would be postponed,” he added.