The giving of subsidies amounting to nearly RM19 billion this year is proof that the government is sensitive to the plight of the people, especially the poor and low-income group.

NONEDomestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Deputy Minister Rohani Karim (right) said the ruling BN government understood the needs of the people and ensured that they were not heavily burdened by rising price of essential goods by continuing with providing subsidies for these goods.

"There is no government anywhere else which is willing to provide subsidies like the BN government does and this is all for the well-being of the people," she said in Sebuyau, Sarawak, today.

Rohani said for this year, the government estimated RM18.92 billion in subsidies for commodities such as sugar (RM567 million), flour (RM150.09 million), cooking oil (RM1.2 billion) and petrol, diesel and LPG (RM17 billion).

Last year, the government allocated RM19.99 billion in subsidies for these commodities.

Rohani said besides subsidies to control the price of daily necessities, the government also provided facilities like the Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) and COOP1M products which were sold at up to 50 percent less than products of other brands in the market.

Other facilities include the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) for households earning less than RM3,000 a month, schooling aid (RM100) and the RM200 book voucher (Baucer Buku 1Malaysia) for Form Six, matriculation, college and university students.

"Yesterday, the government launched yet another initiative, the Skim Amanah Rakyat 1Malaysia (Sara 1Malaysia) to help those earning less than RM3,000 monthly," Rohani said.

"With this latest effort, it is hoped that those concerned can invest their money for a better future," she added.

- Bernama