Second chance lifts 27 from hardcore poverty

TWENTY-SEVEN former offenders assisted through Sarawak’s Low Income Family Empowerment (LIFE) programme have moved out of hardcore poverty, including 11 whose incomes have surpassed the poverty line.

Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the programme had assisted 85 former offenders from seven prison institutions in Sarawak with an allocation of RM418,328.41.

“Societal stigma makes it difficult for them to secure employment, increasing the risk of poverty and reoffending,” she said in her ministerial winding-up speech during the Budget State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here today (Oct 20).

Implemented with the Prisons Department, LIFE provides business equipment and necessities worth up to RM5,000 per participant to help them start or expand income-generating activities based on their skills and capabilities.

Fatimah said 54 participants, or 63.5 per cent, were actively running businesses, while four had established their own companies.

Collectively, the participants generated about RM108,000 a month, equivalent to approximately RM1.3 million annually.

The 11 participants whose incomes had surpassed the poverty line accounted for RM41,000, or 38 per cent, of the combined monthly earnings.

Among the participants was a woman who developed her pastry and traditional kuih business into her own brand, earning between RM4,500 and RM11,000 a month.

Another participant, a man, opened a tailoring shop and earned between RM2,000 and RM5,000 monthly.

“Without a second chance, this cycle will continue,” she said.