KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 6,655 participants from the hardcore poor, poor, and B40 groups have joined the People’s Income Initiative since its launch in 2022.
Deputy Minister of Economy Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib said 40% of participants now earn a monthly income exceeding RM2,000.
She cited examples of participants in the IPR Agricultural Entrepreneur Initiative earning up to RM5,000 monthly.
Participants in the IPR Food Entrepreneur Initiative recorded average monthly sales between RM2,500 and RM15,000.
Hanifah Hajar was responding to a question in the Dewan Rakyat about the programme’s progress and its effectiveness in Sarawak.
She said the Ministry of Economy has introduced several strategic measures to ensure the IPR’s effective implementation.
These include collaboration with Universiti Teknologi MARA to provide financial literacy training nationwide.
The ministry also monitors the programme via an online operational dashboard and provides ongoing technical guidance.
Partnerships with local private companies as buyers help reduce the risk of losses for participants.
Hanifah Hajar said the ministry is expanding collaborations with development agencies for IPR implementation in Sarawak.
A total of 329 B40 participants in Sarawak have benefitted from the programme so far.
Under IPR-INSAN, some participants in Sibu earn up to RM7,000 monthly from vending machine sales at the hospital.
Meanwhile, 90 IPR-INTAN participants earn around RM2,000 from agricultural projects in four Sarawak locations.
The government plans to implement an outcome assessment report for the IPR until 2025.
Assessment indicators will focus not only on income but also on broader human development aspects. – Bernama
