Many elderly residents in Sarawak who qualify for the “Sarawak Basic Assistance Scheme” (SKAS) are unable to receive the RM400 aid simply because they do not own smartphones or cannot operate the required app, Padungan assemblywoman Violet Yong has said.
During the 2026 state budget debate, Yong criticized the Welfare Department for insisting that applicants must have a smartphone and an SPay account, despite an earlier announcement by the Ministry of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development in April stating that those without smartphones could receive SKAS funds directly via bank transfer. She described the situation as contradictory and causing operational confusion.
“Many low-income senior citizens are forced to buy a phone and pay for mobile plans just to receive the aid. This completely defeats the purpose of reducing their financial burden,” she said. Yong noted that a yearly assistance of RM400 (to be increased to RM500 next year) is effectively offset by the cost of a mobile plan, which averages around RM30 per month.
She highlighted that other vulnerable groups, such as single parents and persons with disabilities, are able to receive aid directly into their bank accounts. “Elderly single individuals without smartphones, who are also a vulnerable group, are being unfairly excluded,” she said, calling the policy inconsistent and unreasonable.
Yong urged the government to review the disbursement mechanism before the end of 2025 to ensure that seniors without smartphones can receive SKAS assistance via direct bank transfers. She emphasized that “the simplest, fairest, and most inclusive method is to allow direct bank disbursement.”
