MINISTER PROUD TO BE MADE NKRA'S 'LEAD MINISTER'

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 (Bernama) -- Women, Family and Community Development
Minister Shahrizat Jalil on Monday expressed her appreciation over the
responsibility entrusted to her as the "Lead Minister" in the category of
upgrading the standard of living of the low-income population under the
government's Key Performance Index (KPI) system.

She said the ministry was ready to carry out welfare work to achieve the
goal of zero hardcore poverty by 2011.

"In our bid to give more efficient service, the ministry will ensure that
payments for Community Welfare Department (JKM) recipients would be remitted on
the first of every month starting January 2010," she said in a statement Monday.

She said to date, there were 117,545 recipients of aid from the Federal
Government, who received monthly payments from the JKM.

She said the figure included new recipients that were added after the scheme
was expanded to East Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak starting January this
year, and the hardcore poor families who registered through the ministry's
on-line services.

Prime Minister Najib Razak Monday named Shahrizat as the 'Lead Minister' in
the category of upgrading the standard of living of the low-income population
under the Key Performance index (KPI) which encompassed six National Key Result
Areas (NKRA).
-- BERNAMA