KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today monitored the first phase rollout of the special Covid-19 aid (BKC) to 10 million Malaysians despite being under home quarantine after being identified as a close contact a week ago.

Through video conferencing, Ismail Sabri told the Ministry of Finance not to delay disbursement, especially to those who live in rural areas and have no bank accounts, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

Ismail Sabri instructed the Finance Ministry to issue cash vouchers to the 708,223 BKC recipients who do not have bank accounts.

"The prime minister hopes that this aid would be able to reduce the burdens of the Malaysian Family who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” the PMO added.

During the online session, Ismail Sabri also interacted with several BKC recipients at several Bank Simpanan Nasional branches in Putrajaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Pahang, Perlis and Johor.

The BKC is the government’s cash assistance to middle-income Malaysians and below who have been hard hit by the almost two-year long pandemic and multiple lockdowns that disrupted the country’s economy.

The one-off financial relief payment provides RM1,300 to families designated as hardcore poor; senior citizens and singles in this income bracket will receive RM500 each.

Bottom income families get RM800 while senior citizens and singles get RM200 each.

Middle income households get RM250 while senior citizens and singles get RM100 each.

National news agency Bernama reported last week that eligibility for BKC is based on the same criteria under the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR 2021).

The BKC fund totals RM3.1 billion and payments are expected to be completed by September 10.