BRIM 3.0 to be launched Feb 22, says Najib

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that the national level launch of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) 3.0 will be held this February 22.

The prime minister on Saturday said, at the parliamentary and state legislative assembly level, the BR1M distribution would be held this February 23.

The aid disbursement was as promised in the Barisan Nasional (BN) manifesto in which the amount would be raised from time to time up to RM1,200 for a period of seven years, he said when speaking at the Wisma Umno Bukit Gantang ground-breaking ceremony here.

Under the 2014 Budget which was announced by Najib in October last year, any household with a monthly income of RM3,000 and below is qualified to receive BR1M of RM650 and i-BR1M takaful contribution of RM50.

In reducing the people's burden, Najib said, apart from BR1M disbursement, the government also took the initiative to build the farmers' market, 1Malaysia People's Shop and strict enforcement on the prices of goods.

"At present the prices of goods have stabilised. This is the ups and downs of the economy but, at any rate, we must continue to back the people, which must be our priority.

"We do not want to burden the people, we only channelled the bulk of the subsidy to targeted subsidy and I believe it is the best method and we are now thinking of new steps which will be announced very soon," he said.

He said the government would not waste the trust given by the people during the last general election.

"We are aware and as the prime minister and Umno president, of course, I am very sensitive in this matter because Umno is the party which we must defend as the ruling party that is competent on a continuous basis," he said.

He said it was unreasonable for certain quarters to blame the government in relation to the price hike of goods given that it was caused by several factors that could not be avoided.