Second Phase Of Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat To Begin On Friday

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

5th May 2021 - 2 min read

The government will be disbursing payments for the second phase of Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) in stages starting from 7 May 2021 (Friday). This will involve an allocation of RM2.75 billion in total.

According to the Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, this round of payments will benefit 8.4 million recipients. The figure is comprised of 3.6 million households, 1 million senior citizens, and another 3.8 million single individuals.

With regard to payment method, the financial aid will be credited into recipients’ bank accounts between 7 to 12 May 2021. Meanwhile, individuals who do not have bank accounts (including those in Sabah and Sarawak) can obtain their payments in cash through Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) starting from 17 May 2021.

(Image: The Star)

Tengku Zafrul also commented that payments for the first phase of BPR have been made to these same recipients between 24 February to 1 April 2021. It involved a separate budget allocation of RM1.93 billion. “The increase in the allocation follows the increase in the amount of the aid given to the recipients. In the first phase, those in the household and single categories received RM300 and RM150 respectively, but now the recipients will be paid between RM150 and RM600 based on their eligibility,” he explained.

Additionally, Tengku Zafrul said in a statement that the public can check the status of their BPR approval on the official website starting from Friday as well. Individuals whose applications for the assistance were rejected are allowed to submit an appeal with relevant documents to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) from 15 May to 30 June 2021.

(Image: The Star)

For context, the BPR aid was introduced during the tabling of Budget 2021 as a replacement for the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) assistance package. It was aimed at assisting the lower-income B40 households, featuring a more streamlined set of eligibility criteria and reach. You can find out more about the BPR aid through the official website.

(Source: The Sun Daily)

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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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