Rejected BR1M applicants may appeal to government

1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) applicants who have been rejected but feel they are still eligible for the aid may appeal to the government. Finance Deputy Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the appeal may be submitted to the Inland Revenue Board at www.hasil.gov.my. "For example, last year we rejected a father's application as we found he had bought a new Proton Perdana car. But upon appeal it was clarified that it was his son's car and we approved the aid," he said. Speaking after opening the Dewan Seri Perdana at Sekolah Kebangsaan (LKTP) Bukit Goh here on Saturday, he said the government periodically improved the distribution of BR1M to ease the rising cost of living faced by the people. The government has allocated RM4.6 billion for the 2014 BR1M benefiting 7.9 million recipients. Among the improvements this time is payment of RM450 to households earning a monthly income between RM3,000 and RM4,000. Insurance coverage under i-BR1M was also included with a minimum of RM1,000 for funeral expenses and maximum of RM30,000 for death and permanent disability of the head of family. Commenting on the funeral expenses of RM1,000, Ahmad said the initial proposal of RM10,000 would have been too much for the government and insurance company to bear.