CASH aid for low-income earners will be paid out after Chinese New Year, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said.

He said the government needed some time to gather information as it was using a new approach to deliver the aid, rebranded from the previous government’s Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) to Bantuan Sara Hidup (Cost of Living Aid).

“As announced in the budget (for 2019), we are using a new approach to deliver the aid, but because we have to collect information first, we need a bit more time

“It will definitely be paid out after Chinese New Year,” Lim told reporters in the Parliament lobby today.

Chinese New Year will begin on February 5.

The government has tweaked the quantum of cash aid from before under BR1M, so that households earning less will receive more than those with higher incomes.

Now, households earning RM2,000 and below will receive RM1,000, those earning between RM2,001 and RM3,000 will receive RM750, and households earning RM3,001 to RM4,000 will receive RM500.

The Pakatan Harapan government also removed the category for individuals earning RM2,000 and below who would have received RM450 under BR1M.

But it introduced a new payout of RM180 for per child aged 18 and below for households in the B40 group, capped at four children per household.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said after PH took federal power that the cost of living aid quantum would be reduced gradually over time before it is eventually discontinued. – December 10, 2018.