Government expands BR1M to relieve pinch of rising cost

In 2014, the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) has been extended to households earning between RM3,001 and RM4,000 under the government's effort in helping people mitigate the rise in Cost of Living (COL) through National Key Results Area (NKRA).

According to the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Annual Report 2014, these group received RM450.

"In 2014, the BR1M amount too has been increased from RM500 to RM650 to households earning below RM3,000 per month.

"Even the BR1M for individuals above the age of 21 earning RM2,000 monthly was increase from RM250 to RM300," the report said.

The report said the BR1M programme was even diversified to include the Group Takaful 1Malsyaia (i-BR1M) programme which provides insurance coverage up to RM30,000 to all BR1M recipients in the event of death or permanent disability.

Schooling aid of RM100 was also given to each schoolchildren through the Back To School Assistance Programme, and the 1Malaysia Book Voucher (BB1M) worth RM250 to all students enrolled to institutions of higher education as part of the COL NKRA initiatives in 2014.

With the aim to reduce the burden on the people of paying for basic goods and to enable them to have access to essential items at lower prices , a total of 36 Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) was set up in 2014, bringing the total to 161 stores across the country.

In providing accessible healthcare, 51 new 1Malaysia Clinics (K1M) were opened in 2014, bringing the total number of K1M to 307 nationwide, which had given 15,777,194 basic treatment of wounds, fever and flu to the people.

To ensure quality food were sold at reasonable prices, a total of 578 eateries across the country participated in the 1Malaysia People's Menu programme (MR1M), which offer breakfast and lunch set RM2 and RM4 respectively, thus ensuring that Malaysians of all income groups can afford a hot meal.

The report said the COL NKRA would enhance its initiatives by expanding their scope of reach and the way they had been structured.

"This expanded reach has been a key priority of the COL NKRA and will continue to be so in 2015," the report said.