More people's projects for B40 group in Budget 2017

The government will organise more programmes that will benefit the people, especially those in the B40 group (40 percent of the population in the lower income bracket).

Treasury Secretary-General Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah said Finance Ministy officers had visited four states to see the living conditions of disadvantaged people and evaluate the existing programmes, which were introduced in several areas in the four states.

He said they had visited Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis since last week to evaluate programmes to improve the living standards of low-income families, covering the aspects of housing, employment and skills.

"The government will also look into developing government lands for housing projects especially for the B40 group," he told reporters when met at Saad Mat's house, who is one the participants of the Suria Ku pilot project in Pauh, here today.

Mohd Irwan Serigar said the government will also evaluate existing programmes by various agencies in the states as to whether they have been successful in helping the public or failed to achieve their goals.

"If the programmes prove to be successful, such as the Suria Ku project by the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) in Perlis, then they would be introduced to other states.

"As for failed projects, we will review the weaknesses and seek to make improvements," he said.

NCIA (Manufacturing Division) senior manager Mohd Nazmi Harun said they would expand the Suria Ku project to other states such as Kedah, Perak and Penang after it is completed in Perlis.

He said they were aiming to install 100 solar panel units in the northern states under the Suria Ku project that would benefit the participant to earn between RM400 and RM700 per month.