ISKANDAR PUTERI, March 17 — The Johor government today channelled a one-off cash aid amounting to RM7.02 million to frontline personnel in the state in appreciation of their services and contribution to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A total of 35,136 frontline personnel in Johor will receive RM200 each under the Johor Welfare Agenda initiative that was tabled in last year’s 2021 state budget.
The assistance was presented by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad to representatives of agencies from the Royal Malaysian Police, the Health Department and the Malaysian Armed Forces in a brief ceremony at the Datuk Jaafar Muhammad Building in Kota Iskandar here today.
In addition to that, representatives from the Fire and Rescue Department, the Civil Defense Force and the Malaysian Volunteer Department (Rela) were also recipients of the aid for their role in managing the the virus in the state.
Present at the ceremony were Johor state secretary Datuk Azmi Rohani, Johor Health and Environment Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan and the state financial officer Datuk Salehuddin Hassan.
Meanwhile, Johor police representative, Inspector Nongleek Prak Jun described the aid as a sign of the state government's appreciation of the services of the security and health agencies.
“This contribution will to some extent be able to raise the spirits of the frontline workers to continue to serve,” she said when met after the ceremony.
Armed Forces representative Sergeant Mohd Shukri Hussin said the aid will provide a boost to morale.
Last October, Hasni pledged to deliver an allocation to help frontliners and those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic through its Johor Budget 2021.
He said the focus was on those affected by the pandemic and also for the frontliners involved in the battle against Covid-19.
“I believe and am confident that the state government will mirror the federal government’s budget. We are prepared to ensure that our budget assists Putrajaya’s effort in handling Covid-19,” Hasni was reported as saying.
