During the tabling of the Budget 2022, the government agreed to channel aid of RM2,000 via Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) to reduce the burden of the people in facing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aid will involve households with three children and more besides an average monthly income of below RM2,500.
Finance Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the aid is the highest compared to the previous Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) which only allocated RM1,800.
“The direct cash aid is improved via the introduction of BKM which focuses on those impacted,” he said while tabling the Budget 2022 at the Dewan Rakyat.
The government also announced that the term for eligibility for welfare is now increased to RM1,169 compared to the previous RM980. An allocation of RM25 million to Yayasan Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family Foundation) in the effort to protect the welfare of children was also announced.
A total of RM32.4 billion is allocated for the Ministry of Health (KKM), the second largest allocation after the education sector.
The government also agreed to add RM4 billion specially to continue the effort of curbing COVID-19 and increase the capacity of public healthcare.
A total of 3 million students will receive RM150 each under the Bantuan Awal Persekolahan (back-to-school aid) introduced in Budget 2022. According to the minister, the aid involves a total allocation of RM450 million.
“Besides that, the government, in collaboration with selected telecommunication companies, launched the ‘PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia’ initiative. For that purpose, a total of RM450 million is allocated for the distribution of tablets, handphones and laptops to students of the B40 group,” he said.
Rosli Mansor
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