KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — A total of 99,040 individuals from the low-income group are eligible to be matched with three People’s Income Initiatives (IPR), namely the Agricultural Entrepreneur Initiative (Intan), the Food Entrepreneur Initiative (Insan) and the Service Operator Initiative (Ikhsan), as at February 4, 2024.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the number comprises 42,582 applicants for Insan, 27,110 applicants for Intan and 29,348 applicants for Ikhsan.
A total of 1,135 participants have been approved under Intan to implement the programme in 16 locations, covering an area of 395 hectares, involving a total cost of RM98 million.
“There are participants who cultivate chilli using the fertigation method in Putrajaya and have managed to achieve a monthly net income of between RM2,200 and RM5,600 for the first round," said the ministry in a written reply published on the Parliament website today.
The ministry was replying to a question from Sungai Siput MP S Kesavan, who wanted to know the success of the income programme since it was launched on February 26, 2023, and the ministry's efforts to register more participants.
As for Insan, the ministry said that 100 participants have benefited from the pilot programme, achieving average daily sales of between RM90 and RM400.
There were also participants who achieved monthly sales revenue of RM21,900 in January 2024, through the placement of vending machines at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Machang.
At the same time, a total of 908 participants have been approved for IKHSAN, involving a total cost of RM14.2 million.
Meanwhile, the ministry highlighted that the lack of land to implement Intan is currently a critical issue.
It said that during a visit to the Intan project at Hospital Bahagia, Ulu Kinta, Perak last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had called for state governments to help identify and provide land for the implementation of this programme.
The Intan programme, which is implemented collectively, can attract more applicants to become participants, thus helping them to escape the cycle of poverty.
-- Bernama
