Long queues that wrapped around the BSN building had started to form early this morning as people waited to cash out their BPN assistance.
MIRI: About 200 people lined up outside Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) at the Waterfront Commercial Centre here today to cash out their Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) assistance.
The queue, which extended all the way to the back of the building, had started to form at about 8am and The Borneo Post observed that no social distancing was being practiced by those waiting in line.
“I came from Batu 8 in Lambir and started lining up here since 9am and my turn has yet to come,” a man who requested anonymity said.
“I have no choice but to wait for my turn as I need the money,” he added.
Another group of friends lining up behind him said they too had been in the lineup since 10am.
“We were told that the bank will close at 2pm, hopefully we can cash out the money today,” they said.
When asked why they were not practicing social distancing, they claimed that there was no other space to line up.
Meanwhile, a 53-year-old Roselin Sang from Bekenu said she managed to cash out the assistance money today after been in the line since 8am.
“I drove here from Bekenu at around 7am and reached here about an hour later. After that, I went straight to the police station to get the inter-district travel permit before coming here so that I can go back to Bekenu later without being detained by the authorities carrying out roadblocks,” she said.
According to Roslin, she lined up for about three hours before her turn arrived.
“It was a long wait but it is worth it since I had managed to cash out the money today,” she said.
It is learnt that those who queued at the bank were given a voucher instead of having the money being credited directly into their accounts, since they had no bank accounts.