The Selangor government will introduce free healthcare service for the Bottom 40 - covering one million people who have lived in the state for 10 years - in its Budget 2017.

Dubbed "Skim Peduli Sihat" or medical and healthcare coverage, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali said the move is being taken to address the rising cost of living faced by this group.

"For this purpose, we propose to allocate RM125 million annually for the implementation of the scheme, which will provide free healthcare services for 250,000 families, or one million Selangorians who earn a monthly household income of RM3,000 and below," Azmin said.

Those who were born in Seloangor or lived in Selangor for 10 years would be entitled to the medical coverage, he said when presenting Selangor Budget 2017 in the state legislative assembly today.

The scheme will be managed by third party healthcare administrator Selgate Corporation, which will fund RM500 annually for each eligible family.

The registration can be done at the offices of state assemblypersons, local authorities and the land office, he said.

“Every participant will then get a health card,” he said, adding that wives and children under 21, will be entitled to treatment by general practitioner according to the stated conditions.

A total of 1,000 clinics registered in Selangor and the Klang Valley will be roped in, said Azmin, who is also PKR deputy president.

Other pointers in Selangor 2017 Budget:

  • RM14 million to develop Smart Digital Eco-system, which includes big data command and control centre and smart apps development platform; RM8 million for Internet of Things (IoT).
     
  • RM45 million for four local authorities to implement iClean Selangor system.
     
  • RM15 million to rehabiliate Sungai Klang.
     
  • RM125 million for Skim Peduli Sihat, free healtcare services for Bottom 40.
     
  • RM5 million to curb dengue and Zika through pest control operators in local authorities and other means.
     
  • RM5 million for dialysis treatment, RM50 million loans to Yayasan Hijrah Selangor to conduct welfare programmes.
     
  • RM55 million to maintain lifts at low-cost housing units.
     
  • To allocate RM100 million to expand Smart Sewa Scheme, which allows 30 percent of the rental tenants to pay downpayments to purchase their housing units.
     
  • To allocate RM100.6 million to replace leaked water pipes.
     
  • RM192.7 million for the development of Semenyih 2 water treatment plant and Labohan Dagang water treatment plant.
     
  • RM44 million to upgrade Sungai Langat water treatment plant and 11 water pump houses.
     
  • RM17 million to ensure the continuity of water supply.
     
  • RM51.3 million for the construction of new roads - including an alternative road road from Shah Alam to Banting, and a connecting road to Kota Warisan.
     
  • RM102.8 million for construction of bridges and pedestrian bridges - including RM80 million for Klang's third bridge.
     
  • RM20 million for Smart Bus project.
     
  • RM135 million to curb floods in Klang, Subang and Sepang.
     
  • RM72.16 million for rural development; RM19.5 million for urban community development.
     
  • RM5 million to set up Selangor Business School, under Universiti Selangor (Unisel).
     
  • RM44 million for education fund - including RM10 million to assist Selangor undergraduates studying in public universities in Selangor.
     
  • RM21 million to strengten the infrastructures of religious and vernacular schools.
     
  • RM1 million to set up Institute Wanita Berdaya, a think-tank to formulate policies and initiatives to strengthen women in the state.
     
  • To build a Selangor-Japan friendship garden in Shah Alam, in gratitude to the Japanese business community for choosing Selangor as their economic powerhouse in Malaysia.
     
  • Low-cost housing, new village and traditional village residents will continue to be exempted from assessment fees, while small traders will be exempted from paying licensing fees. That will cost the state RM62 million.
     
  • Allocations for the government's state assemblypersons will be increased from RM700,000 annually to RM800,000. While opposition state assemblypersons will continue to get RM200,000 annually.
     
  • State civil servants will get two months of salaries as special financial assistance, with one-and-a-half months of this sum having been paid out in July. This will cost the state government RM57.25 million.