Lim: No extension for ‘e-Tunai Rakyat’ programme

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IPOH: The Government does not intend to extend the period of registration for the e-Tunai Rakyat programme which ends on March 9.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said 2.6 million applications had been submitted to redeem RM30 from the government via the respective e-wallets since the programme’s launch on Tuesday (Jan 15).

He said that out of the total, two million applications had received the cash incentive so far.

“A total of RM59 million has been spent (so far), making up more than 10 per cent of the RM450 million allocated for the programme,” he told reporters after attending the launch ceremony of the e-Tunai Rakyat Initiative at the Aeon Kinta City supermarket here yesterday.

He said the programme was part of the government’s efforts to encourage people to make digital payments, as well as to encourage more traders and merchants to register themselves on the platforms.

“The effort is also to move towards a cashless society, and the response received from Malaysians so far has been very good and it is beyond our expectations,” he said.

Lim said Malaysians who redeemed the RM30 government grant from any of the three selected e-wallet operators, namely Grab, Boost, and Touch ‘n Go should use the amounts by March 14.

“So everyone including traders are urged to sign up and seize this opportunity to either sell or buy digitally or online,” he said. — Bernama