Women, family, social welfare, cooperatives and entrepreneur development committee chairman Salbiah Mohamed said that rather than rely on direct aid, the Perak government wants to boost M40 families’ household incomes with entrepreneurship development programmes, skills training, and access to digitalisation.

Salbiah said the state government could also explore measures such as preschool education discounts, childcare subsidies, affordable essential goods purchase programmes, or discount cards, Bernama reported.

She said there are plans to offer M40 households with mental health support, financial management techniques, and debt management assistance through partnerships with the private sector and GLCs.

“The issues faced by the M40 must be viewed within a broader and more inclusive framework.

“The state government will conduct a comprehensive review of the proposals and refine existing aid policies and programmes to be more responsive, especially for households that are increasingly ‘slipping’ from a stable status into a group that requires attention,” she said in the state assembly today.