In explaining why over 600,000 applicants were denied the aid, Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani said there were even cases where those earning over RM10,000 had applied for the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M).
“If we don’t check, the money will be distributed to the wrong group,” he told reporters at a press conference at Parliament today.
Single individuals earning below RM2,000 monthly and those with a household income of less than RM4,000 are guaranteed the cash aid, which was introduced in 2012.
On a related matter, Johari explained the need for the cash aid to be distributed in person despite a previous government decision to bank in the money.
“There are those who do not have a bank account, so there are leaders who will pass the recipients the vouchers.
“In my constituency, those without a bank account, we will give them in person and that’s good. And if there are any problems, they can come to see me.”
Johari’s explanation comes a day after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim got into a heated argument with the DAP’s Anthony Loke after the opposition MP suggested that personal distribution of BR1M cash aid was akin to vote-buying.
Although he did not refer to a specific person or incident, Loke was apparently alluding to a Malaysiakini report which said Barisan Nasional leaders in Perlis, Kelantan and parts of Perak had asked to “manually” distribute BR1M aid.
Johari also refuted reports on social media that those registered with the Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), or Companies Commission of Malaysia, were not eligible for BR1M.
He said the only reason these individuals had their application rejected was because they had failed to provide complete information, including documents detailing their finances.
Johari also said the 700,000-plus people who received BR1M last year, but claimed to have been denied the aid this year, would receive it in stages by the end of next week.
“It has nothing to do with SSM. Some have their names registered with SSM too, but they encountered no problem receiving the aid because complete information was provided, which we asked for on Dec 31 last year.
“Anyway, I have asked for BR1M to be distributed to those who received it last year, even though their information is not yet complete.
“But make sure that in the next three months you provide the necessary information, and your bank statements or savings book.”