Finance Minister: Removal Of i-Sinar Conditions Will Benefit More Malaysians

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

5th March 2021 - 2 min read

(Image: The Star)

Finance Minister Tengku Seri Zafrul Aziz said that more Malaysians will be able to benefit from the i-Sinar facility amidst the Covid-19 pandemic following the removal of eligibility conditions for the initiative.

The minister emphasised that the government was always concerned about the people’s welfare and the difficulties that they face during the implementation of the movement control order (MCO). “I am sure this is a very much awaited development. I hope that this i-Sinar facility will, to some extent, reduce the burden faced by the people,” he said in the 43^rd LAKSANA report.

Tengku Zafrul also shared that i-Sinar applications made before 25 February will be progressively approved in batches, with payments being disbursed since 2 March 2021. These applications involved those that are still awaiting for approval or were previously rejected, prior to the changes that were made to the i-Sinar eligibility criteria.

Briefly, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members who applied for the i-Sinar facility earlier were initially required to abide by a set of eligibility criteria. These criteria were eventually removed in mid-February, allowing all members below the age of 55 to withdraw from their Akaun 1 – subject to their remaining account balance.

Aside from that, Tengku Zafrul noted in his report that new applications abiding by the new regulations will be open starting from 8 March 2021. Members will also be given the flexibility to amend their application details – such as the amount applied for, bank information, address, telephone number, and payment mode – via the i-Sinar Online site.

Aside from a summary on the current implementation of the i-Sinar facility, this latest LAKSANA report also contained updates on other initiatives, including the i-Lestari programme and the Wage Subsidy Programme.

(Source: MOF, New Straits Times)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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