KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — Payment for Phase 2 of Covid-19 Special Assistance (BKC) will be disbursed from this Thursday (November 25), involving an allocation of RM300 million.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in a statement today, said the second payment would involve 700,000 households, single individuals and senior citizens who belong to the poor category.

"Payment of Phase 1 of the BKC was completed last September with an allocation of RM3.1 billion and benefited almost 10 million recipients.

"The next payment, Phase 3 of the BKC, will be disbursed according to schedule in December involving an allocation of RM1.2 billion for 3.8 million households, comprising the poor and the B40 group,” he said.

For household recipients, senior citizens and single individuals, the payment will be credited into their bank accounts, while recipients who do not have a bank account, including in Sabah and Sarawak, will receive their payments through the Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) branches.

Checks for the BKC approval status can be made through the BKC portal at https://bkc.hasil.gov.my.

Ismail Sabri said the government is always sensitive to the people’s plight and hoped that the BKC payment would help to ease their burden, especially those who were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"To ensure the well-being of Malaysian families, the government will also continue to be committed to ensuring that the assistance provided can be channeled effectively,” he said.

BKC is part of the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (PEMULIH) initiative, in addition to the additional payment to the economic stimulus package that benefits 10 million recipients comprising the hardcore poor, B40 and M40 categories, as well as qualified singles.

is part of the People’s Protection and Economic Recovery Package (PEMULIH) initiative, in addition to additional payments to the economic stimulus package.

On June 28, the government announced the PEMULIH package as one of the initiatives to provide comprehensive assistance to the people in overcoming the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the BKC hardcore poor category, households will receive RM1,300; senior citizens single (RM500) and single (RM500).

For category B40, households will receive RM800, senior citizens single (RM200) and singles (RM200) while category M40, households are eligible to receive RM250, senior citizens single (RM100) and singles (RM100). — Bernama