Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Hajah Azizah Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Mohd Dun yesterday brushed aside rumours that Umno ministers have met with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to plot the removal of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak by 2017.

“Now everybody is making all sorts of rumours. Do not listen to rumours. The legal term is hearsay, which is not admissible in court,” Azizah replied when asked to comment on the claim posted on an online news portal.

Malaysia Chronicle claimed that some Umno ministers have met with Zahid recently, saying that it was getting more difficult to support Najib.

The news portal claimed that the ministers had said that the Prime Minister should go by early next year or else they would not run for elections in 2018 as they know they would lose in their respective constituencies.

“Sometimes you cannot trust those news portals, neither can you believe them,” Azizah said after officiating at the last leg of the Action Plan to Empower Single Mothers 2015-2020 nationwide roadshow here yesterday.

The deputy minister stated at the ceremony that single mothers do not need sympathy, but empathy, for them to achieve success.

She said the main aspect for single mothers was economic empowerment, rather than only receiving financial assistance.

She said economic empowerment entailed providing single mothers with training, helping them to kick start their business and enhance their source of income so that they would not be seen as weak.

Azizah said there were capable single mothers who run their own business and raised their children, and at the same time, wanting to help other single mothers in need.

Meanwhile, she said some single mothers required assistance in terms of marketing their business products. Some wanted their children to have access to better education and needed help in grants, scholarships and study loans.

“Some of them are so busy working that they do not have time to look up for information regarding study grants and scholarships,” she said.

As such, Azizah urged single mothers to provide their inputs and views regarding the Action Plan to Empower Single Mothers 2015-2020 launched by the government in October 22 last year.

She said the action plan encompassed 19 strategic measures centred on three core areas, namely, economic empowerment, enhancing social well-being and stepping up implementation of research and development coordination of single mothers.

The action plan include various strategic measures to assist single mothers, such as financial aid, consultation and counseling until they become independent through training, job opportunity, business training and capital for them to kick start or expand their business.

“The action plan also focuses on study and research to help the government in understanding issues pertaining to single mothers.”

Azizah stressed that the action plan was not rigid and could be moulded to suit the needs of single mothers.

She said the needs of single mothers in Sabah and rural areas might not be the same as their counterparts in Kuala Lumpur, Klang Valley or the Federal Territories.

“Some officers suggested programmes for single mothers which are not suitable. That is ‘syok sendiri’ (self-satisfaction) only whereby the benefits are not apparent. Hence, we hope that the action plan will allow us to do research to understand the real needs of single mothers and to organize programmes or activities that can truly bring benefits to the target group, namely single mothers.”

Therefore, she said the input and views from single mothers were required so that the action plan could truly benefit them.

On a related note, Azizah said a task force aimed at strengthening the implementation of the action plan would have its first meeting this year on April 29.

The task force, which is chaired by Azizah, comprises 34 government agencies, higher learning institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.

She said the task force is divided into three technical working groups to study the feedback collected throughout the roadshow, which would be used to improve the actions needed to be taken to realize the action plan.

On the other hand, Azizah said there was no proposal to create an action plan for single fathers yet.

She said there were assistances available for senior citizens if the single father is elderly, aid for children or even counselling services if they required emotional support.

“There is no proposal to create an action plan for single fathers. When there is a need, we will not leave any groups of our community behind, be it men or women,” she responded to a question.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by Chok Sim Yee

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