Selangor increases legal aid funds for syariah cases to defend women's fate

SHAH ALAM - The allocation for the Selangor Legal Aid Fund initiative has been increased to RM2 million compared to RM1 million previously allocated to ensure that more low-income groups receive benefits.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the increase in funds was made after syariah cases were included in the list of assistance while the eligibility limit for household was also raised to RM5,000 from RM2,000.

“Previously, the fund was only provided for family (civil) cases. This expansion of the scope will help more women who are oppressed and need legal assistance in domestic issues.

“Even before, the fund was open to families with an income of RM2,000 and below only but now it has been increased to RM5,000.

“This initiative is an effort by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to defend the fate of women in Selangor,” he said in a Facebook post.

While presenting the 2023 Selangor Budget, last year, the Menteri Besar announced that the free legal aid scheme would be extended to syariah cases to help women who were being oppressed.

It was previously reported that Selangor emerged as the first state to assist with the allocation of RM1 million through the establishment of the scheme on July 24, 2022.

The initiative was created to help resolve issues pertaining to family (civil), employment and public interest to ensure that the community was not oppressed and marginalised.