10,000 hawkers in Sabah told not to lose out

Kota Kinabalu: State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor said local authorities in Sabah are prepared to register about 10,000 penjaja (hawkers) who have yet to do so to benefit from various schemes and programmes by the government.

According to him, of the 1.5 million hawkers and small entrepreneurs in the country, only 1,228 in Sabah are protected under the government insurance scheme of Hawkers and Small Entrepreneurs Clustered Insurance Scheme.

The scheme is known as National Hawkers and Small Entrepreneurs 1Malaysia Insurance Plan (P1MPIN), he said.

"It is given free to the hawkers and small entrepreneurs but so far, only 1,000 over hawkers in Sabah are registered with the local authorities.

"So, grab this opportunity to register with the Malaysia Cooperative Commission (SKM) so that you can obtain the incentives and aid from the government," he said at the State level Penjaja 1Malaysia programme at Anjung Selera, Tanjung Lipat, Sunday.

He said they should be considered very fortunate because the present government is very concerned for their wellbeing. Hajiji also said they should not listen to the opposition, who only make promises and all sorts of slander, allegation and lies as if the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government never cares for the hawkers and people.

"If you compare us to other nations that have obtained their independence much earlier than us, we are more peaceful, prosperous and comfortable.

"So, why should we believe what the opposition are saying especially when they have not proven of their capability to govern the country," he said.

The BN, on the other hand, he said, has proven its capability of steering the country since independence to that of a progressive nation.

Hence, Hajiji said the people should not be emotional or influenced with the slander spread by the opposition.