KUANTAN, Nov 28 — Individuals who feel they are eligible to receive Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia or Malaysian Family Assistance (BKM) can register or update their information from January 1 to 31, said Deputy Finance Minister 1 Mohd Shahar Abdullah.

He said the existing recipients of Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) need not apply for BKM as they were eligible to receive the assistance automatically with the first payment expected to be made in March 2022.

According to him, the registration process is open to ensure that those who are eligible, but not in the database are given the opportunity to apply and register and update through the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) website.

"Don’t worry, the existing BPR recipients will receive (BKM)... for those who used to be M40 and now categorised under B40, they can update their records starting January.

"We have a month for them to do so and more information related to BKM can be found on the IRB website,” he said at a press conference after attending the Closing Ceremony of the Malaysian Entrepreneur and Family Cooperative Carnival at Dewan Paya Besar here today.

Meanwhile, Mohd Shahar, who is also Paya Besar Member of Parliament, said the Covid-19 Phase 3 Special Assistance will be implemented according to the set schedule, which is in December involving an allocation of RM1.2 billion for 3.8 million poor and B40 household recipients.

Earlier in his speech, he advised rural entrepreneurs to improve their knowledge in the field of digitisation for payment processes and product marketing as well as seize the opportunity to use initiatives provided by the government in expanding their businesses.

At the event, a total of 16 entrepreneurs received funding of RM105,000 from Tekun Nasional, 19 companies were allocated RM1.3 million funding from SME Corp while five cooperatives in Pahang through the Malaysian Cooperative Commission Revolving Capital Fund received RM2.4 million.

The carnival organised by the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Bank Rakyat as a strategic partner was held for two days starting yesterday with the participation of more than 300 Pahang entrepreneurs. — Bernama