eRezeki programme for low-income groups officially launched

• Digital Malaysia initiative aims to enhance quality of living
• Comprises e-Rezeki centres and representative organisations

MULTIMEDIA Development Corporation (MDeC) has rolled out the national ‘eRezeki’ programme, aimed at providing additional earnings to Malaysians with a monthly household income of below RM4,000 (US$1,070), also referred to as the Bottom-40 (B40) group.
 
The B40 community includes blue-collared workers, the unemployed and under-employed, students, housewives, retirees and senior citizens, the national ICT custodian said in a statement. ‘Rezeki’ is Malay for ‘livelihood.’
 
The eRezeki programme was first announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak last October, as part of the Digital Malaysia programme which aims to transform the nation into a ‘digital economy.’
 
MDeC, the lead agency for Digital Malaysia, had also announced other B40 initiatives in April 2014.
 
“eRezeki is our initial approach in fostering community and social-based enterprises and building capacity for the B40 community to participate in productive and innovative economic activities such as this,” Najib said at the launch of an official eRezeki centre in Kuala Lumpur.
 
“Programmes like eRezeki will encourage the B40 households to be independent, find new ways to earn income including through non-financial asset ownership,” he added.
 
The eRezeki programme includes two major components, MDeC said in its statement:

• The eRezeki online platform (pic below) where individuals can register as digital workers and perform simple digital-based tasks to generate additional income; and

• eRezeki centres or Pusat eRezeki along with Wakil eRezeki (eRezeki representatives) that provide facilities such as computers and connectivity for the participants.

The eRezeki centres will be managed and guided by qualified trainers known as ‘siberguru’ (cyber-teachers), whose responsibilities include registration, task-specific training, and on-site facilitation of work delivery by the digital workers.
 
The first four centres are currently located in four states: The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Kedah, Terengganu, and Pahang.
 
The eRezeki portal and training services are free. To enrol in the programme, individuals are required to visit the nearest centre to register as participants. Registered individuals will have to participate in training sessions and will be taught basic digital skills by the ‘siberguru.’
 
Once they are skilled and qualified, they will enter the digital work platform, operated by crowdsourcing players, to perform tasks. They will be paid after the tasks have been completed and accepted.
 
There will be 11 eRezeki centres to be built in multiple stages across the country, including Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, by the end of 2015, MDeC said.
 
The eRezeki representatives or Wakil-wakil eRezeki consists of government-linked organisations and public-private partnerships that will use their facilities as designated centres to support and accommodate more digital workers.
 
MDeC has currently identified and will designate Pusat Internet 1Malaysia, community colleges and Urban and Rural Transformations Centres to become Wakil eRezeki. There will be a total of 22 Wakil eRezeki by the end of 2015, the agency said.
 
“For those who are interested, we advise you to chat with our siberguru at designated centres or call the hotline [see below] to get more information,” said MDeC chief executive officer Yasmin Mahmood.
 
“Once you are registered and trained, it is as easy as logging in, spending two to three hours a day on basic tasks, and earning additional income monthly,” she said.
 
For more information on eRezeki programme, visit www.erezeki.my or call the eRezeki Hotline at 1-800-88-8338.
 
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Crowdsourcing off to good start in Malaysia, challenges remain
 
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