The Economy Ministry has once again come under scrutiny over the People’s Income Initiative (IPR), a programme known for bright red vending machines in public areas.After its launch in 2023 by former economy minister Rafizi Ramli, critics had often lampooned the IPR as being another example of a purportedly hare-brained formula.However, in a written…

The Economy Ministry has once again come under scrutiny over the People’s Income Initiative (IPR), a programme known for bright red vending machines in public areas.After its launch in 2023 by former economy minister Rafizi Ramli, critics had often lampooned the IPR as being another example of a purportedly hare-brained formula.However, in a written parliamentary response to Bachok MP Syahir Che Sulaiman yesterday, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Nasir said the vending machine programme saw 929 out of 1,228 participants, or just below 76 percent, recording cumulative sales exceeding RM2,000 per month.He said two participants even recorded average monthly sales exceeding RM13,000: one at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Machang and another at Sungai Buloh Hospital.He said figures cited are out of 6,781 households from the hardcore poor, poor, and B40 groups that had participated in the IPR initiative as of Aug 31 this year.Although the vending machines under IPR’s Insan food entrepreneurship programme is the most visible to the public, it actually has two other components: Intan for group farming and Ikhsan for service workers.