CAREGIVERS of disabled patients, who are bedridden, can apply to receive RM500 in assistance from the Federal Government.
A Sabah Social Services Department spokesman said this monetary aid was also available to individuals who looked after those who were chronically ill, be they bedridden or not.
“These monthly payments are meant to lighten the financial load on caregivers, as well as patients and their families,” he said.
“On top of this, we want to encourage families and caregivers to keep looking after their debilitated charges. As much as possible, we want to avoid a situation where these patients are handed off to government assisted living institutions.”
He said only caregivers who were Malaysian citizens, living in the country, and came from households with a monthly income of not more than RM5,000 could apply.
“They will have to show that they provide proper care to the chronically ill or handicapped bedridden patients. In cases where the caregivers of such patients were foreigners, the assistance can be given to those whom they are looking after.”
He said caregivers, who serviced more than one of the target group, could also seek monetary aid.
“The rate of assistance given to such caregivers depends on the number of patients they are looking after.”
He said the applicants would have fill up a form and provide the agency with copies of the requisite documents, including a Health Department report verifying the condition of the condition of bedridden patient being cared for.
“Provided everything is in order, it should take between one to two days to finish processing the applications.”
The spokesman was responding to feedback about the plight of underprivileged Likas senior citizen who had suffered a stroke some time ago.
The caregiver, who highlighted the elderly individual’s desperation to Hotline, said her 80-year-old charge was struggling to make ends meet.
“She is living in very poor conditions,” she said.
“Given the rising costs of living, she can barely get by, let alone pay me, even with the meagre assistance she receives from the Government.”
The spokesman said the Federal Government provided RM600 in “Bantuan Warga Tua (Senior Citizens Aid)” to eligible elderly Malaysians without children or any living relatives.
“The recipients have a monthly income which is below the national poverty line and are 60 or older years in age.
“They must also not be staying at a government assisted living institution or some other premises that receives food aid or any other facilities or services for free.”
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Datuk Mustapha Sakmud announced in January that Sabah had the highest number of the impoverished in the country, with 254,303 Sabahans living in poverty.
He said, according to the Household Income Survey, over 1.2million Malaysians were considered to be poor.
He explained that as of December 31 last year, 1,204,995 citizens, including 247,062 heads of households were categorised as being poor.
Per the data contained in the Survey, Mustapha said, no Malaysians were presently categorised as living in “hardcore poverty”.
“The poverty classification is determined by household income per capita which is derived using a formula provided by the Economic Ministry,” he said.
“Someone is considered to be ‘hardcore poor’ based on the national poverty line income (NPLI) which is revised from time to time to reflect changes in the cost of living, food prices, inflation and local conditions.”
He said the Government recognised that the poverty measurement could not be considered to be static and had to be reviewed regularly according to prevailing circumstances.
Per the findings of the Department of Statistics (DoS), the average NPLI was RM2,705 per month per household as of October 2025.
The DoS said the country’s population stood at an estimated 34.3million as of November.
