KUALA LUMPUR: Those who did not qualify for the Rahmah Cash Contribution must make a fresh application before the end of this month, says Deputy Finance Minister Steven Sim.
His advice follows reports that some applications were rejected because the applicants had businesses registered in their name.
"The aid is provided to those who genuinely need it and the government considers several factors in determining eligibility," he said in reply to a supplementary question by Young Syefura Othman (PH-Bentong) in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (March 15).
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Young Syefura said some applicants in her constituency had been rejected after it was found their names were registered with the Registrar of Companies (ROC).
Sim said eligibility for the aid is based on the overall assessment of an applicant, not just on income.
"Factors such as a business registration and home and vehicle ownership are taken into consideration.This is in line with the recommendation of the World Bank and provides a high degree of transparency," he added.
However, Sim added that those who failed in their application because their names were with the ROC could make a fresh application before March 31.
He said the new applications and any supporting documents would then be cross-checked with government data.
"As of March 15, a total of 355,965 new applications were made for the aid," he said.
When tabling the revised Budget 2023 on Feb 24, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Phase 1 of the Rahmah Cash Contribution would involve households in the B40 group with income of less than RM2,500.
They would receive aid of up to RM2,500, depending on the number of children in each household.
He said the government will also give additional cash aid of RM600 to hardcore poor households based on eKasih data.
Anwar said the aid would help ease the cost of living for 8.7 million beneficiaries and involve an allocation of almost RM8bil.
On Tuesday (March 14), Anwar told the House he had directed Phase 2 to be implemented by early April, before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Meanwhile, to an earlier question by Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PN-Dungun), Sim said the nation is expected to see 4.5% economic growth this year.
He said this was based on forecasts that Malaysia would see 4.0% to 4.4% economic growth this year according to World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections.
As such, Sim said the country will not experience an economic downturn this year.
