Govt aid helpful, but more in need<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Seven years ago, Muala, 67, was fired from his job as a driver
\nafter losing vision in his left eye because of a cataract. He has
\nbeen out of work since and his wife, Sumirah, 49, has been the
\nsole source of income for the household.<\/p>\n
Muala and Sumirah have eight children. Five of the children
\nare married, have jobs and live with their spouses.<\/p>\n
The two youngest children are in elementary school and junior
\nhigh schools, while another son is still living at home after
\nhaving to drop out of high school when Muala lost his job.<\/p>\n
All of the family's income comes from the cakes that Sumirah
\nmakes and sells from a tiny kiosk in front of their 18-square-
\nmeter shack in Slipi, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"Selling the cakes gives us enough money to buy food every
\nday," Sumirah told The Jakarta Post over the weekend, saying her
\ndaily earnings ranged between Rp 15,000 (US$1.30) and Rp 20,000.
\n"My children often complain because I cannot buy them books."<\/p>\n
Muala and Sumirah are just one of 101,219 poor families, or
\n444,527 people in total, in the capital who will receive Rp
\n300,000 in direct cash assistance from the government every three
\nmonths. The assistance for these poor families will come from the
\nmoney the government saves by raising fuel prices and slashing
\nthe fuel subsidy.<\/p>\n
"I thank the government for the money ... now we can afford to
\nsend our children to school and also to make more cakes," Sumirah
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
But there are still many low-income families who are not
\nreceiving the government assistance. Many of these families have
\ncomplained that they are not receiving assistance despite being
\nregistered for the program by local administrations.<\/p>\n
Muala said 10 families were registered for the program by the
\nhead of his neighborhood unit, but only two of the families
\nreceived Fuel Compensation Cards from the Central Statistics
\nAgency (BPS).<\/p>\n
Cardholders have been able to collect their money at the
\nnearest post office since Saturday.<\/p>\n
Many critics have questioned how the government determined who
\nwould receive the assistance, since the determination was made
\nbased solely on reports from local administrations.<\/p>\n
Slipi subdistrict head Hendra Hidayat said only 140 of over
\n300 poor families registered in the subdistrict had received the
\nassistance funds.<\/p>\n
"I distributed the cards to the recipients on Wednesday after
\nI got their names via phone calls from post offices. I do not
\nhave the list from the BPS so I cannot verify whether all of
\nthese recipients deserve the assistance funds.<\/p>\n
"Moreover, the cardholders must hurry and get their money as
\nsoon as possible," Hendra said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-aid-helpful-but-more-in-need-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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