JOHOR BARU: Some 40,000 Deepavali baskets worth more than RM5 million were distributed to Indian households across Johor.
Separately, the state government has allocated RM1.87 million for the Jualan Kasih Johor programme, offering 54,000 subsidised essential-goods packages at RM15 each across 63 locations statewide.
Each package comprised a whole chicken, a tray of eggs and two litres of cooking oil.
Johor MIC chief K. Raven Kumar said the state government’s initiatives were aimed at ensuring families could celebrate Deepavali while easing the financial burden of purchasing essential goods for the festivities.
The Kemelah assemblyman said the baskets, containing essential items such as cooking oil, rice, sugar and festive cookies, were distributed through the service centres of the state’s 56 constituencies over the weekend.
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He said the initiative reflected the state government’s commitment to ensuring that no community was left out of its development and welfare programmes.
He added that Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi had also been addressing long-standing issues affecting the Indian community, including those involving temples, burial grounds and housing.
“The people are happy with the state government and look forward to more incentives and initiatives, particularly those involving the younger generation,” he said.
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Raven said the state was also looking at ways to ensure Indian youths benefited from opportunities arising from the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
“Onn Hafiz places strong emphasis on youth development. We want to ensure Indian youths also have access to the opportunities and benefits created by the JS-SEZ,” he said.
Raven will host a Deepavali open house at his home in Bandar Putra, Segamat, on the first day of the festival, from 7pm.
He wished Hindus a happy Deepavali and urged families to celebrate with loved ones while remembering the elderly and underprivileged.