THE Penang Government will start collecting data on Penangites aged 60 and above from May 1 for its proposed reward programme.Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said senior citizens would need to fill up forms which could be obtained from assemblymen and MPs.

“We will decide on the rewards after we have pooled concrete data on our senior citizens.

“We will have to first make sure that they are Penangites or are permanent residents of the state,” he said.

“One way we can determine this is by their voter status,” Lim told reporters yesterday after distributing roses to wo-men at the Jalan Air Putih market in conjunction with the International Women’s Day.

For you: Lim giving a stalk of rose to a customer at a coffee shop on Jalan Air Putih.(Pix: The Star)

For you: Lim giving a stalk of rose to a customer at a coffee shop on Jalan Air Putih.(Pix: The Star)

He said senior citizens did not need to rush to register themselves as ample time would be provided for the data collection.

He said: “We will be concentrating on eradicating hardcore poverty for now.

“We’ll probably launch the reward programme next year.

The reward programme in appreciation of the senior citizens’ contributions to the state was announced during the first anniversary of Pakatan Rakyat’s rule in Penang on Saturday.

Source: The Star Online by WINNIE YEOH Tuesday March 10, 2009
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/3/10/north/3440144&sec=North