Answer for Oral Question PL166

Reading Summary

📖 Reading time: 3 minutes
📊 Word count: 571 words

YANG BERHORMAT AWANG HAJI DAUD BIN JIHAN

QUESTION:

YANG BERHORMAT AWANG HAJI DAUD BIN JIHAN asks the MINISTER OF CULTURE, YOUTH AND SPORTS to state whether the programs managed by the Department of Community Development to assist welfare aid recipients who have the potential to work in the Government and private sectors are still ongoing and how effective they are?

MINISTER OF CULTURE, YOUTH AND SPORTS

ANSWER:

1. Thank you, Yang Berhormat Pehin Yang Di-Pertua and Yang Berhormat Awang Daud bin Jihan, for the question regarding the effectiveness of the empowerment program for welfare aid recipients.

2. I am pleased to inform that this Ministry, through the Department of Community Development (JAPEM), continues to implement various efforts towards empowering welfare aid recipients, specifically for them to be independent and contribute to the nation's development, either through employment placements in the Government or private sectors. This effort aligns with the Government's policy to reduce continuous dependence on aid and build economic resilience among the citizens and residents.

3. In effort to find employment opportunities in the private sector, JAPEM collaborates with the Brunei Jobs Centre. Through this collaboration, clients are matched with suitable job opportunities based on their qualifications. Additionally, JAPEM has also taken the initiative to establish direct collaborations with several local private companies (such as Syarikat Takaza, Hua Ho, Rentokil, SKH, and Simpor Pharma) to provide direct employment opportunities to aid clients. This approach involves negotiations with employers and the process of matching candidates with offered positions, particularly in fields of work that do not require high academic qualifications. These efforts have shown positive results, with 257 clients successfully securing employment from 2022 to 2025.

4. Furthermore, as an effort to remove families receiving aid from dependence on aid, one of the Ministry's efforts is to focus on their children or dependents to gain employment. For example, the Program Inovasi Belia Berwawasan (PIBB) targets youth from aid-receiving families, aged 16 to 21 years, who are not schooling and not working, with the program running for 9 months comprising 3 months at PKBN, 3 months at Polytechnic, and 3 months in job placement. Of the 77 participants, 47 have successfully obtained employment, while others have furthered their studies or started businesses. The Department of Community Development (JAPEM) has also implemented several direct job placement initiatives within this department. These initiatives include the placement of aid recipients and their dependents as JAPEM hotline staff on a daily wage basis. To date, three (3) clients have been appointed under this initiative. This opportunity not only exposes them to the work environment but also helps enhance basic skills and self-confidence among aid recipients.

5. Moreover, JAPEM has also employed eleven (11) clients as Social Contract Workers for a period of three (3) years. Through the TADRIBAT Program and Mentee Program consisting of the children of aid recipients, these clients are tasked with assisting in managing SKN application cases, particularly those involving investigations and follow-up actions. With this job placement, the ministry hopes they gain meaningful work experience and thus strengthen their ability to work in other sectors and places. The implementation of these initiatives aims to gradually transition aid recipients from dependence on welfare aid to a more independent and productive life. At the same time, it also helps to meet the support workforce needs in JAPEM and consequently contributes to the improvement of service delivery efficiency to the community.

6. That is all that can be explained, thank you.