With the GST and the country’s general higher cost of living leading many Malaysians to gripe about their finances, the Federal Government seems to want to address the issue the best way it knows how: to further expand the 1Malaysian People’s Assistance (BR1M) programme, declare more people eligible for cash aid, and to give people who are already eligible even more money.
According to the Annual Report on the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) 2014 released by the Prime Minister’s Department, a new BR1M handout of RM450 is to be introduced to households making between RM3,000 and RM4,000 a month.
The report also reveals that the BR1M programme will increase the existing cash assistance to households making RM3,000 or less a month, from RM500 to RM650.
“BR1M for individuals aged 21 or above who make RM2,000 a month or less will be raised from RM250 to RM300,” the report said, as quoted by Astro Awani.
How BR1M helps Malaysians will also be expanded, with the introduction of the 1Malaysia People’s Communal Takaful Insurance programme (i-BR1M), which will provide coverage worth up to RM30,000 to any eligible BR1M recipient in the event of their death or permanent loss of mobility.
The Federal Government will contribute RM50 ringgit in premiums for every BR1M recipient under the i-BR1M insurance scheme.
The report also details how primary and secondary school students qualifying for the Back To School Assistance Programme will receive RM100 in book vouchers, and undergraduates in tertiary institutions will receive RM250 in book vouchers.
1Malaysia People’s Shops (KR1M) will also see an increase, with 36 more such subsidised perishable goods stores set to be built nationwide, including in Sabah and Sarawak, bringing the total number of outlets to 161.
The 2014 GTP plan also allocated the building of 51 new Klinik 1Malaysia (K1M) across the country, bringing the total number up to 307 clinics nationwide. K1M clinics have so far serviced 15,777,194 outpatient cases.
Here’s another acronym for you to (try to) remember: the 1Malaysia People’s Menu (MR1M) is aimed at providing the rakyat with affordable high-quality ready-made meals, with 578 restaurants across Malaysia having registered under the programme. MR1M provides Malaysians with federally-mandated RM2 breakfasts and RM4 lunches.
Despite what some people (like former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad) might have been saying about Prime Minister Najib Razak’s already-extensive BR1M programme, it seems Putrajaya is hellbent on giving even more Malaysians even more freebies in the immediate future.
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