KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 ― The government aims to launch the Electronic Government Unclaimed Money Information System (eGUMIS) in the second quarter of next year to make it convenient for the public, especially for those living in the rural areas to check on their unclaimed monies.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz said of 52,015 applications for unclaimed monies so far this year, 34,353 were from those living in the capital.

"In addition, the Accountant-General’s Department will participate in the Mobile Community Transformation Centre programme, organised by the Finance Ministry, to enable the public to check on their unclaimed monies status,” he told the Dewan Rakyat here today.

Responding to a question from Datuk Ahmad Fauzi Zahari (BN-Setiawangsa) on the steps taken by the government to raise public awareness on unclaimed monies, Othman said as at October 31 this year, the total amount of unclaimed money stood at RM5.96 billion, of which 70 per cent were from bank accounts that remained dormant or inactive for more than seven years.

The bank accounts are made up of savings accounts, current accounts and matured fixed deposits, he added.

To a supplementary question from Sim Tong Him (Independent-Kota Melaka), Othman said the Accountant-General’s Department acted as the trustee for unclaimed monies and would transfer the money to the Consolidated Revenue Account after 15 years.

However, he said account holders or beneficiaries could still claim the monies even after they had been transferred to the Consolidated Revenue Account by submitting complete documents, including the death certificate if the holder had died, and the birth certificate as proof of family ties. ― Bernama