Govt announces increase in BR1M4.0 for all recipients

Taking into consideration the increased revenue collection from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the affordability of the Government, the Government today announced that the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) 4.0 will be raised from RM650 to RM950 for households with monthly income of RM3,000 and below.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the assistance will be disbursed in three instalments with RM300 each to be paid in January and May and the balance of RM350 in Sept 2015.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, announced this when tabling Budget 2015 themed "People Economy" in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He added that for household with monthly income from RM3,000 to RM4,000, the government will increase BR1M from RM450 to RM750.

He said this would also be paid in three installments, RM200 in January and and May and the balance of RM350 from September 2015.

The Prime Minister said for single individuals aged 21 and above and with a a monthly income not exceeding RM2,000, BR1M will be raised from RM300 to RM350.

"This assistance will be disbursed early next year," he said.

Najib also announced that the Government will replace the group takaful insurance or i-BR1M introduced in BR1M 3.0 with the Family Bereavement Scheme.

The new scheme will entitle the next-of-kin of BR1M recipients to receive RM1,000 effective for a year.

When BR1M 1.0 was introduced in 2012, households earning RM3,000 and below month were given assistance of RM500.

Under BR1M 2.0 in 2013, the same amount was given to the same group and the government also introduced BR1M of RM250 for singles aged 21 years and above whose salaries did not exceed RM2,000 a month.

Under BR1M 3.0, the aid to households with monthly income of RM3,000 and below was raised from RM500 to RM700, encompassing cash aid of RM650 and i-BR1M of RM50.

The aid for the singles category was raised by RM50 to RM300.

And for the first time, BR1M 3.0 included households with monthly income from RM3,000 to RM4,000 where the aid given was RM450.