ISKANDAR PUTERI, May 4 — Johor continues to post encouraging economic performance after the state’s revenue reached RM1 billion as of April 30, Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said today.

He said the figure marks an increase of RM307 million compared to the same period last year, placing Johor on solid footing to achieve its revenue projection for this year.

“Johor’s success is driven by several major achievements, including recording the highest investment figure in the state’s history.

“This reflects investor confidence in Johor and has also opened up tens of thousands of job opportunities for the people.

“In addition, Johor’s strong economic growth with a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate has strengthened the state’s fiscal base, thus increasing the government’s ability to generate sustainable revenue,” he told the Johor state legislative assembly at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar here today.

Onn Hafiz, who is also chairman of the Johor Natural Resources, Administration, Finance, Planning, Economic Development and Tourism Committee, said the achievement proves Johor is on the right track to sustain inclusive and long-term growth.

“Based on this strength, the state government is committed to ensuring that every increase in revenue is returned to the people through high-impact initiatives,” he said, adding that this approach has been implemented through phases one to four of the Bantuan Kasih Johor (BKJ) welfare programme, which includes more than 100 initiatives with an allocation of almost RM400 million.

Onn Hafiz said the state government would continue strengthening efforts to help the people, ease the cost of living and ensure the state’s prosperity is shared by all.

ISKANDAR PUTERI, May 4 — Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the state government has allocated RM138 million for the fourth phase of the Bantuan Kasih Johor (BKJ) welfare programme.

He said the latest phase of the BKJ is expected to benefit more than 600,000 people throughout the state. 

“The implementation of the fourth phase of BKJ is based on the comprehensive feedback from recipients throughout the implementation of the previous phases of the programme,” he told the Johor state legislative assembly at the Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar here today.

Based on feedback from the people, Onn Hafiz said the state government has improved the latest phase to allow more Johoreans to directly benefit.

He said that a total of 22 initiatives were introduced under the fourth phase of the BKJ, covering various levels of society including older Malaysians, housewives, young couples, small traders, people with disabilities (PwD), orphans as well as community volunteers.

“Among the main initiatives are cash assistance of RM200 to more than 307,000 senior citizens, RM200 to 136,000 unemployed housewives and RM400 to 45,000 newly married couples.

“In addition, a RM300 assistance will also be distributed to nearly 30,000 registered hawkers and small traders to support their economic survival,” he said.

The BKJ’s fourth phase will see assistance being extended to larger target groups that will include disabled students, orphans, and impoverished heads of households, school bus and van drivers, welfare aid recipients, mosque and surau committees and religious officials. 

In addition, frontline workers such as security guards and hospital and religious facility cleaners, as well as homestay operators, grave digger volunteers, youth associations and state sports associations will receive benefits under the new phase.

Onn Hafiz, who is also the Johor Natural Resources, Administration, Finance, Planning, Economic Development and Tourism Committee chairman, said that each BKJ initiative was designed with the aim of strengthening the social networks in the state so that no one was left out.

“The state government is committed to ensuring that every increase in revenue is returned to the people through high-impact initiatives that are truly felt by Johoreans,” he said. 

Onn Hafiz said the state government would continue to improve this initiative from time-to-time, in line with state’s fiscal capacity. 

He added that if the state’s revenue continues to increase, the state government will similarly increase the assistance to benefit the people.