DUN Sarawak: Introducing the appeal mechanism of SKAS

KUCHING, 14 Oct: The Sarawak Government proposed to create a direct application and appeal mechanism for the Sarawak Basic Needs Donation (SKAS) to ensure that people who really need assistance are not excluded from receiving the benefits.

Adjunct Member of the State Legislative Assembly (ADUN) Pujut, Adam Yii said that status of recipient of the Federal Government's Mercy Cash Contribution (STR) should not be the only criterion for determining a person's eligibility to receive SKAS.

According to him, the Government of Sarawak continues its commitment to help alleviate the cost-of-living burden of citizens through SKAS in Budget 2027, with a rate of assistance of RM1,100 for eligible households, RM600 for golden citizens and RM375 for eligible single individuals.

"I welcome the continuity of this initiative which is able to provide support to people especially those most affected by rising living costs", he said.

He said this while discussing Sarawak Budget 2027 at the 19th Sarawak State Assembly (DUN) Conference, today.

However, he said that based on the feedback from residents in his village, there were recipients who previously enjoyed SKAS but then no longer qualified because their names are not listed as STR recipients.

"The use of STR data facilitates the process of identifying recipients, but losing a name from a database does not necessarily mean that someone is no longer facing financial difficulties", he said.

He believes that changes in household conditions, out-of-date information or other factors can cause individuals who really need help to be excluded from an existing list.

In this regard, he suggested that the government should provide a direct application and appeal channel to enable people who are not listed in STR data to apply for SKAS based on household income as well as their actual financial situation.

"These restrictions are not intended to relax the eligibility requirements, but instead provide additional opportunities for eligible but unidentified citizens through existing databases", he explained.

He said, if SKAS is to help the people of Sarawak face the cost-of-living pressures, the qualification system should be more flexible in identifying real needs and not rely entirely on a single Federal Government database.-TVS