KUANTAN: The Pahang government will provide assistance to 13,200 individuals whose livelihoods have been badly affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the state government had identified the recipients and was in the midst of fine tuning the aid - cash and goods - to be distributed to those eligible throughout the state.
"A total of 13,200 individuals who are directly affected by the MCO have been identified. The State Welfare Department is coordinating the assistance with help from the Menteri Besar's office and state secretary's office.
"Those on the list are individuals who suffered loss of income due to MCO including pasar malam and pasar tani (farmers' market) traders. Procedures and the distribution mechanism will be completed within the next one or two days," he told reporters after visiting policemen and armed forces personnel at a roadblock along Jalan Teluk Sisek here today.
On March 19, Wan Rosdy had announced that a special allocation from the state government and government-linked companies (GLC) amounting to RM2 million will be distributed to those who suffered loss of income during the 14-day MCO.
Meanwhile, Wan Rosdy said 8,000 policemen and army personnel had been mobilised at numerous locations throughout Pahang to mount roadblocks and intensify patrols to ensure people stay at home.
"In Pahang, 37 roadblocks have been set up and I was informed that everything is going on smoothly. The presence of the army along with policemen shows the government's seriousness in tackling the problem so we hope the people will listen and remain at home," he said.
Meanwhile, State Police Chief Datuk Abdul Jalil Hassan said the fifth day of the MCO today revealed that between 90 and 95 per cent of the people in Pahang were staying at home.
"We have chosen to issue friendly warnings to ensure the people understand the importance of staying indoors. The roadblocks are not stationed in only one area but will move to other areas depending on the situation (if there are reports of high volume of vehicle movement)," he said when met while accompanying Wan Rosdy today.