Datuk Amar Jaul Samion
KUCHING: The 430,000 Sarawakians from the low income or B40 group will receive their Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) monthly RM250 cash payout starting this month.
State Secretary Datuk Amar Jaul Samion in a statement today, said the list of aid recipients will be based on the list of Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipients as of January 2020 approved by the Inland Revenue Board.
He said for those who have registered bank accounts, the cash assistance will be deposited to their bank accounts every 15th day of the month from April until September 2020.
For the more than 23,000 recipients without registered bank accounts, Jaul said the cash assistance will be channelled in two phases at the State Treasury branch offices nearest to the address of the recipients.
The first phase will be from April 15 to 30 this year, and the second phase will be from August 15 to 30.
“This (BKSS) is meant to reduce the burden of those under B40 group in facing the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Chief Minister Datuk Pattingi Abang Johari Tun Open on March 23 announced the RM1.15 billion Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance Package to help Sarawakians face the economic uncertainties made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the 16 measures in the aid package is the BKSS, whereby the B40 group will be provided a monthly cash pay-out of RM250 for six months. This measure will cost Sarawak Government RM645 million.
On another matter, Jaul said the Sarawak government encourages Sarawakians to use Sarawak Pay when making cashless transactions during the current Covid-19 pandemic.
A homegrown mobile payment platform, SarawakPay has become a popular e-wallet app among Sarawakians since its inception in November 2017 and supported by many merchants across the state.