Friday, 14 Aug 2020 09:20 PM MYTMinister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin speaks during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur August 14, 2020. — Picture by Firdaus Latif
Speaking to the press after visiting and distributing meals to the homeless and urban poor in Chow Kit, he lamented the fact that the RM900 poverty margin previously recorded was left unchecked for such a long time. "Yes, of course. Budget 2021 will be the first budget with the new poverty line. So with the new poverty line, you will definitely see an increased amount of allocation for welfare assistance and poverty eradication efforts,” he added when asked if the upcoming national budget would contain a poverty uplifting agenda.
"That also means that we have to look at the typical food baskets that we give. Sometimes the food baskets that we are giving have cordial syrups and all that, so we have to work together with private sector partners to make sure that whenever they are giving something, they are giving the right kind of food baskets to the recipients.