KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — The federal government’s RM1,000 aid or Bantuan Wang Ihsan (BWI) for flood victims is a one-off measure during this current flood season, with the financial assistance to be given only to Malaysians who are the head of their flood-hit households upon successful application, the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) said today.
In a frequently-asked-questions document released on its official Facebook and Twitter pages today for the 2021 north-east monsoon disaster, Nadma also clarified that the RM1,000 aid is only for each flood-hit house even if there may be more than one family living under the same roof.
Here’s a summary of Nadma’s FAQ:
Who can apply?
Nadma stated that the RM1,000 aid will only be given to Malaysian citizens who are the head of the household, stressing that the aid is for each affected house instead of each family that may have shared a single house.
“Only one house which was involved is eligible to get the BWI once regardless of household/family,” it stated.
For a situation where two families share the same house, for example, Nadma’s FAQ states that the amount of aid to be given is only RM1,000 “as only one head of household of the house involved is eligible to receive the BWI once regardless of the number of households/families”.
For a scenario involving several friends who had rented a house and where the rented house was hit by floods, they are eligible to apply for the RM1,000 aid but with only one of them eligible to do so.
And if the tenants of a flood-hit home had already applied for the RM1,000 aid, the landlord is not eligible to apply for the same aid.
How many times can you get the RM1,000 aid?
Once only. Even if the floods return during this disaster period.
In explaining the one-off nature of the RM1,000 aid, Nadma said: “The eligibility for the flood disaster BWI is only given once during the disaster season period that has been declared. If the disaster happens more than once in the disaster period, then there will be no second, third or subsequent aid that will be given.”
This answer was given by Nadma in response to the FAQ of how many times a flood victim can apply for the BWI aid if their house is affected by the floods several times during this monsoon season.
How to apply for the RM1,000 aid?
You cannot apply for this aid online.
If you did not evacuate to temporary flood shelters, otherwise known as temporary evacuation centres (PPS), you will have to apply via your respective district offices and will have to apply either to your community leader or district officer.
If you evacuated to a PPS shelter, you are to refer to personnel or staff at the PPS.
But remember again that you have to be a Malaysian to apply for the aid.
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What documents do you need to apply for the RM1,000 aid?
The FAQ did not list the actual documents needed, but merely said the documents required for the application would depend on the type of applicants.
Those who had registered at a PPS with a Malaysian identity card do not need to make an application for the RM1,000 aid, as it will be directly dealt with by the Social Welfare Department.
Those who had registered at a PPS without a Malaysian identity card and those who did not move to a PPS will both have to register with community leaders.
If you had evacuated to a PPS that is not a gazetted temporary shelter, you can still apply for the RM1,000 aid but will have to register with community leaders such as the village head (penghulu, ketua kampung), Village Community Management Councils (MPKK) and Village Development and Security Committees (JKKK).
Applications for RM1,000 aid have to be approved
Whether you succeed in applying for the RM1,000 aid or not is subject to the district officer as the chairman of the District Disaster Management Committee (JPBD).
The district officer has to verify that each application involves a victim who was truly affected by the floods.
As for what criteria is required for someone to fit in the definition of a “victim affected by the floods” and to then be considered to be given the RM1,000 aid, Nadma said the basic criteria would be when an incident fits the definition of “disaster” as outlined under the National Security Council’s Directive No. 20 and as verified by the district officer.
