THE government will give an additional cash assistance of RM100 per household and RM50 for bachelors in the B40 group, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today. 

“Prior to this, Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) recipients got up to RM400, but now, they are entitled to receive up to RM500,” he said at a press conference today. 

“The additional cash assistance payment to be paid together with the BKM phase 2 payment involves an additional allocation of RM630 million.” 

He said eligible recipients will receive the payment in stages starting June 27.

“Checks on BKM approval status can be carried from June 27 via https://bkm.hasil.gov.my,” he said.

BKM is a direct cash aid initiative announced in Budget 2022 to benefit the B40 group. 

Ismail said the payment is to lighten the financial burden of the people. 

Earlier today, Pakatan Harapan said the government must announce in 24 hours measures to help Malaysians cope with the rising cost of living, more so, as the prices of chicken and cooking oil are set to rise from July 1. 

The opposition pact’s presidential council said in a statement that it is ready to mobilise the people to express their dissatisfaction if the government fails to do so. 

In January, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the BKM programme is expected to benefit more than 9.6 million people this year with an allocation of RM8.2 billion. 

Ismail today said the additional amount will benefit almost 8.6 million recipients – four million households, 1.2 million single pensioners and 3.4 million bachelors. – June 22, 2022.