THE Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) has set May 31 and June 30 as the closing dates for applications for the one-off payment for hawkers and small traders under the Penang People’s Aid Package 1 and 2 respectively.
MBSP mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud urged them to apply as soon as possible by submitting accurate information as required for their applications to be approved.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow announced the first aid package of RM75 million on March 25 and the second aid package of RM76 million on May 6 to help vulnerable groups and businesses affected by the enforcement of the movement control order from March 18.
Rozali said 300 applicants who have qualified for the RM500 one-off payment from the first aid package were however not able to receive the money yet as they have wrongly typed their name or their bank account number.
He advised those who would be submitting their applications for the second aid package not to repeat the mistake.
“This is not a small figure. How could they make such a mistake? Don’t make the same mistake as them,” Rozali said in his Q&A live session over the MBSP Facebook today.
“We’ll email them to ask them for corrections. Don’t worry; your money is not missing. We’ll definitely disburse them. No need to telephone us because the MBSP line is always busy. We’ll tell you what to do when we send out emails from June 1.”
Apart from that, Rozali said there are 1,300 applications that MBSP could not verify their qualification as yet.
Rozali said under the second aid package, three categories of hawkers in Seberang Perai qualify to apply for the RM500 one-off incentive.
The first group are those hawkers operating at food complexes or private shops like coffee shops. Rozali said only the owners of these food premises need apply on behalf of the hawkers although the owners themselves are not entitled to the incentive.
The second group comprises hawkers, whose licences have expired in 2018 but are still active hawking.
The third group is made up of hawkers with “tagging” status and whose names were already registered with MBSP. These hawkers, Rozali said, are for instance from Taman Nibong Tebal Jaya, Taman Sutera in Seberang Jaya and Permatang Maklom in Sungai Dua.
Since the implementation of the MCO, Rozali said MBSP has come out with several initiatives to prepare itself for the new normal.
One of them is the project base assignment, which Rozali initiated on Jan2 this year by tapping on the creative talents and teamwork of the MBSP personnel to produce beneficial outcome for the Seberang Perai folk.
He added that there are 17 departments in MBSP, with a director heading each department that specialises in different fields, like engineering, building, planning, finance and so forth.
As an example of one project base assignment, he showed a short video made by the MBSP media team on the standard operating procedures (SOPs) post-Covid-19 at the workplace.
In the informative video, MBSP staff and visitors have to wear face masks, observe social distancing and undergo body temperature check at the entrance. Anyone with a temperature of 37.5 degrees Celcius will not be allowed into the building.
The MBSP lobby’s main door is always open for the public to avoid touching it.
The MBSP staff and visitors are also advised to avoid touching any surfaces like staircase railing and door knob.
They are also to avoid using finger to press lift button but to use pen or tissue. While waiting for lift, they stand one metre apart from each other. Only four persons are allowed into a lift at any one time.
MBSP also gives priority to pregnant women, OKUs and senior citizens to use the lift.
The video also encourages the staff and visitors to wash hands with soap or use hand sanitiser before entering the office and after completing what they wanted to do.
They are also advised not to touch their eye, nose or mouth.
It also shows MBSP workers cleaning the surfaces of counters, scanners, photostat machines, light switches, door knobs and water taps regularly.
It also shows visitors sitting on designated seats to avoid physical contact.
While this protocol is also practised in many other places, the in-house video reminds everyone the importance of protecting oneself and the society in the fight against Covid-19.
Rozali complimented the MBSP media team for coming out with a successful video and for also being involved with broadcast of over 20 Q&A live sessions he has held since March 18. They have attracted 367,000 followers.
Story by K.H. Ong