PETALING JAYA: Imagine getting your hands on RM18,000 when you have no clue that you have such an amount in the first place.
An elderly man had the shock of his life when he discovered the amount that he had in unclaimed money from the government, according to a post by Finance Ministry on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"The man did not know that he had RM18,000 when he visited the MOF booth at the Program Madani Rakyat in Miri, Sarawak on Sunday (Sept 29)," said the post on Monday (Sept 30).
It said the man, who hails from Miri, had come to Miri for the programme, which was taking place at a shopping mall.
"The money will be credited directly into his bank account within 30 days after the Accountant General's Department receive the complete documents," added MOF.
A picture posted by MOF showed the ministry officials handing copies of the documents to the man.
Earlier this year, the department had said that as of February 2024, there was RM15.4bil in unclaimed money and RM3.8bil in total payouts.
Currently, all unclaimed money by individuals or companies are transferred to a Consolidated Trust Account where it will be held for 15 years before it is channeled to the Consolidated Revenue Account.
However, on March 11, the government had proposed to shorten the 15-year lapse period to 10 years.
The public may check their status and claim their money if available through the eGumis portal at https://egumis.anm.gov.my/ or at any Accountant-General's Department counter nationwide.
