Disabled communities calls for Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to bin JKM Pay

Focus

By RYNNAAS AZLAN

25 Jan 2022 04:28pm

Some members of the disabled communities that were present at the protest in Putrajaya today. They are calling for the Women ministry to do away with JKM Pay. - Photo courtesy of G. Francis Siva

SHAH ALAM - The Department of Social Welfare's (JKM) Cashless Assistance Payment project dubbed the JKM Pay, has been met with outrage from the disabled communities for allegedly impeding their ability to utilise welfare aid based on their needs.

In a protest held by 13 People With Disabilities (PWD) associations in front of the Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) Ministry earlier today, they demanded that the totality of the cash aid to be credited to the welfare recipient's bank account rather than 50 per cent of the amount being credited to the cashless card under JKM Pay.

One of the protest organisers, Independent Living and Training Centre Malaysia (ILTC Malaysia), president G. Francis Siva said the JKM Pay project had been implemented in stages in Perlis and Melaka since last year without any consultation with the PWD community beforehand.

Siva further explains that this is in violation of the principles of the Convention of the Right of Persons with Disability (CRPD), Article 3 (a) in particular, which states that there must be “respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices and independence of persons”.

Francis said prior to the implementation of the policy, those benefiting from the welfare aid were able to purchase goods without having to head to designated shops and 100 per cent of the allowance would be credited to their bank accounts.

Currently, the implementation of the JKM Pay cashless card will allow welfare recipients to buy only basic necessities and medicine from JKM panel shops, taking away the ability to spend half of the allowance according to their needs.

All associations involved in the protest today are calling for immediate cancellation of JKM Pay in addition to a cash aid of RM50 for all disabled Malaysians without prejudice.

Should the above solutions be ignored by the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development, Siva said the matter will be taken to Parliament.

“We need to stop treating disabled people as less than human. By dictating what they should and should not spend their money on, you are taking away their rights,” he said.

Present at the protest was also KPWKM deputy minister Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff who assured attendees that the implementation of JKM Pay does not involve any existing recipients.