KUALA LUMPUR:Malaysians who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and require assistance are advised to browse the government portal for incentives available through Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR).

According to Treasury deputy secretary-general (Policy) at the Ministry of Finance, Zakiah Jaafar, a section of the local population is still unaware of the assistance provided by the government especially for gig economy workers and the B40 group.

"We noticed in the 'survey' conducted by an organisation recently, that 30 per cent of the respondents were not aware at all of the assistance that the government has been providing,” she said during the ‘Ruang Bicara’ programme on Bernama TV last night.

She said the government appreciates feedback from the community with regard to improving the BPR where necessary.

An allocation of RM6.5 billion that has been set aside for BPR will benefit 8.1 million people; it is an improvement from the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) which was allocated RM5 billion and benefitted 4.3 million Malaysians.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz during the tabling of Budget 2021 said the BSH would be replaced with the BPR which is an extension and enhancement on it.

-- BERNAMA