GTP 2.0 - Prime Minister's Office of Malaysia

suCCEss stoRy
1AZAM: Building Futures
While the LIH NKRA is focused on helping
low-income households, the team recognises
that the best way to help is to teach
people to financially empower themselves.
The NKRA believes that this is the only
sustainable way forward, both for aid
recipients and for the Government.
Zakaria Daud is a fisherman in Bachok,
Kelantan. Although he has no problems with
catching or producing his product, he took
home a mere RM450 per month in income,
which was barely enough to support his
household of nine persons.
When the 1AZAM project team met with
Zakaria, they realised that his low income
was due to middlemen, who would buy
wholesale from him before retailing it to the
public. With no facilities to bring his product
to the market, Zakaria was dependent on
these middlemen who took a substantial cut
of the revenue
Under the AZAM Tani programme, the
delivery team, he delivery team (Lembaga
Pertubuhan Peladang) gave Zakaria a
motorised tricycle which enabled him to go
to market himself. The effect of this small
change made a substantial difference, raising
his monthly income several times to RM3,000
per month.
“Many thanks to the Government especially the
LPP for giving me plenty of advice and helping
me raise my income through this project,”
Zakaria says, who is now ‘terkeluar’ from the
low-income category.
Shafie Hamzah, also from Kelantan, shares
a similar story. Once an odd-job man for his
kampung, he is now a successful entrepreneur
running a small-scale coconut milk, or ‘santan’,
processing enterprise servicing villages in his
area. Under the 1AZAM programme, Shafie
received help from the Government in the form
of machines, equipment and raw materials
totaling RM10,000.
The change has been significant with his
income having increased from RM800 per
month to RM4,500. “I feel very lucky to have
been chosen to participate in the Azam Tani
programme and I am thankful for the help that
I have received,” says Shafie, who looks after a
household of 15.
The cases of Zakaria and Shafie illustrate
the kind of support provided by the LIH NKRA
through the 1AZAM programme. The delivery
team feels strongly that there are many more
cases similar to Zakaria and Shafie elsewhere in
the country, and will intensify efforts in GTP 2.0
to reach out and get them to participate in their
programmes.
mIGRatIoN oF Data FRom EkasIh
to GREatER EkasIh
The eKasih database is the central tracking and
monitoring tool designed to identify rakyat who
are most in need of help from the LIH NKRA’s
programmes. It would be virtually impossible
without the database to determine the present
state of poverty in Malaysia, and to tailor
programmes to meet the specific challenges.
The eKasih database also monitors the
effectiveness of 1AZAM programmes through
a rigorous KPI system. As part of the GTP’s
commitment to accountability and transparency,
programmes will be modified to better deliver
aid should they be shown to be ineffective in
raising income levels.
Hence, another important initiative in 2012
was the migration of eKasih data into the Greater
eKasih database. This single database will ensure
better targeting of those in need, while reducing
duplication and resource wastage in the future.
This improved version of the eKasih database
will be managed by the Implementation Coordination
Unit (ICU) of the Prime Minister’s
Department.
CoNtINuous housING suPPoRt – Rumah
mEsRa Rakyat 1 malaysIa (RmR)
The security of a home plays a vital role in
helping the less-advantaged break free from
the cycle of poverty and thus was made a key
initiative of the LIH NKRA’s activities. Under the
Rumah Mesra Rakyat 1Malaysia Programme, lowcost
homes were made available to Malaysian
citizens earning less than RM3,000 per month in
2012. Previously, the income threshold was set
at RM1,500 per month.
In the middle of 2012, a change in policy
and financing term by the Ministry of Finance
rendered the initial target of building and
restoring 10,000 homes by Dec 31, 2012
impossible. As such, Syarikat Perumahan Negara
Berhad (SPNB) revised its target to 1,500 units,
which has been achieved.
130 Government transformation Programme—Annual Report 2012 Chapter seven 131
Government transformation Programme—Annual Report 2012 Chapter seven