KUCHING: More than 154,000 Sarawakian children have benefited from the Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS) since its introduction in 2019, with the initiative continuing to provide long-term financial support for children in the state.
The milestone was highlighted during a handover ceremony held in conjunction with the Endowment Fund Sarawak committee meeting on Monday, where several beneficiaries received their EFS contributions and Bantuan Ibu Bersalin (BIB) assistance.
“Endowment Fund Sarawak (EFS) and Bantuan Ibu Bersalin (BIB) are among the important initiatives of the Sarawak government in strengthening family well-being as well as the development of human capital in the state,” said Women, Childhood and Community Well-being Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
As of April 30 this year, a total of 154,648 children had received EFS accounts, involving an allocation of RM154.6 million by the Sarawak government.
In terms of births recorded last year, 24,315 applications were received from 27,421 eligible children, representing an 89 per cent participation rate.
Fatimah said one of the programme’s major achievements was the reduction of application processing time from between three and six months to around one month through the implementation of a fully online application system.
She added that under EFS 2.0, eligible children born from 2025 onwards are expected to have savings of more than RM2,400 by the time they turn 18.
Meanwhile, the BIB initiative has benefited 99,260 mothers since its introduction in 2020, with RM44.6 million disbursed by the state government.
Through digitalisation efforts, the processing period for BIB applications has also been reduced from approximately three months to just two weeks.
The committee also identified increasing rural participation, strengthening awareness efforts, streamlining special-case applications and enhancing digital integration as key priorities moving forward.
“We call on all eligible parents and mothers to submit their EFS and BIB applications so they can enjoy the benefits provided by the Sarawak government,” she added.
