KUALA LUMPUR: The government must quickly come out with more effective-and-organised measures to disburse cash aid which are provided in the ‘Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package’, said Tan Sri T.C Goh, president of The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong).
He said, this is necessary in order to prevent huge crowds from continuing to throng the various Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) branches, to collect their Prihatin cash aid, or to inquire about it, which may potentially expose them to the risk of contracting Covid-19 and sparks a new cluster transmission.
He proposed the government to quickly make arrangement to enlist the other commercial banks to facilitate disbursement of the Prihatin cash aids to those who are qualified, the SMEs included, as well as to attend to public inquiries on the aids.
“We observed that although the public can withdraw the cash aid via the ATM of various banks, but there was a large number of them who do not have a bank account or intended to inquire about their status had flocked to the Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) yesterday, and the situation was quite chaotic in some places due to shortage of police manpower to maintain order,” he pointed out in a response issued today.
Goh who is also the president of the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) cited the chaotic scene at the BSN Kota Kinabalu for example, where huge crowds were seen queuing outside the bank premises on Monday, either to collect their Prihatin cash aid, or to inquire about their status. Many also failed to wear face mask or to observe the required social distancing measure.
He thus hoped the government could pay serious attention to such a worrisome phenomenon throughout the country, the sub-urban and rural areas especially, and to immediately remedy the situation in order to prevent new cluster transmission of Covid-19.
He said, Huazong received feedback various quarters expressing concern that huge crowds were queuing up at various BSN branches in almost all districts throughout the country on Monday, in conjunction with the first round of disbursement of the Prihatin cash aid that was meant for the B40 group.
He expressed concern that if such a phenomenon is not quickly and properly addressed, it may cause the repeat of the chaotic incident early last month where, huge crowds flocked to the various police stations throughout the country in the middle of the night to apply for the trans-state travel permit, after the government announced the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO). The police later cancelled the requirement for the said travel permit.
“The possibility of a potential new cluster transmission due to the presence of huge crowds at the BSN outlets is a legitimate and foreseeable concern, and the government must take immediate and appropriate measures to prevent it from happening,” he reiterated.
He reckoned that the main reason that caused the masses to flock to the BSN outlets is due to the information contained in the ‘Questions and Answers’ of the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, which stated that those qualified for the Prihatin cash aid but without a bank account could go to the BSN to collect it or to inquire about it.
He thus hoped the government and the National Security Council (NSC) could take immediate actions to rectify this, in order to ensure a more organized and smoother disbursement of the Prihatin cash aid to the people.-pr/BNN
