KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — Payment of additional assistance under the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) to 8.4 million eligible recipients will be made in stages, starting today, involving an allocation of RM2.1 billion.

Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, said of the total recipients, 3.6 million were households, one million were senior citizens, while another 3.8 million were single individuals.

Through the additional BPR, households earning RM2,500 and below will receive RM500, households earning RM2,501-RM5,000 will receive RM300, while senior citizens earning RM5,000 and below, as well as single individuals earning RM2,500 and below, will receive RM100.

"Payments to all recipients are made from June 30 to July 2 by being credited directly into their accounts.

"For recipients who do not have a bank account, payment is made in cash, from today, through Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) branches, and the bank will issue a standard operating procedures (SOPs) guide from time to time,” he said in a statement today.

Payment for recipients in the interior of Sabah and Sarawak who do not have a bank account will be made in cash together with the BPR Phase Three payment through BSN, in collaboration with the Inland Revenue Board and the Treasury in both states in the near future.

The BPR is a cash assistance initiative introduced by the government to benefit the B40 group, with Phase One and Phase Two payments amounting to RM4.68 billion paid to 8.4 million recipients in February and May respectively.

On May 31, the government announced the Supplementary Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (Pemerkasa Plus) to alleviate challenges, especially during the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) 3.0, by improving the BPR initiative.

Tengku Zafrul said that taking into account the Phase One, Phase Two and additional BPR payments, the cash assistance provided to date, to almost 8.4 million recipients, amounted to RM6.78 billion, while the expected Phase Three payments in September were estimated at RM2.32 billion.

"In total, an allocation of RM9.1 billion has been provided by the government for the implementation of BPR which has been and will be channelled to the B40 group,” he said. — Bernama