Abdul Rahim Bakri
KOTA KINABALU: Lack of internet connectivity and literacy are the cause of low awareness on the MySalam Takaful Insurance eligibility amongst the rural Sabah and Sarawak people, said Deputy Finance Minister 1 Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri.
He said many people, especially from the outskirts of Sabah and Sarawak, and parts of the Peninsula are still unaware and uninformed that the federal Household Living Aid (BSH) recipients, some also listed for the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) one-off aid, are those given the MySalam Takaful Insurance protection.
“This lack of knowledge is related to the lack of (internet) penetration and literacy in the rural areas and the dependency on conventional information,” said Rahim yesterday.
“MySalam policy holders consist of BSH holders who have made their claims since March 1, 2019 through online methods.”
Rahim said so far, 3.8 million BSH recipients from the bottom 40 percent (B40) income group in Malaysia, also recipients of the BPN one-off aid, have automatically been given the MySalam Takaful Insurance protection.
He said the Syariah-compliant insurance is provided by Great Eastern Takaful Berhad through an agreement made with the Malaysian government to protect the B40 category.
Rahim said the global insurance company had agreed to channel RM2 billion into the MySalam trust on January 1, 2019.
“In line with the current pandemic situation, those in the infected by the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) category are also entitled to compensation,” he said.
“In addition to extending the takaful insurance coverage, those who are not BSH beneficiaries are also entitled to the protection as long as they earn an income of less than RM100,000 a year and aged from 18 to 65.
“The scheme has been expanded and is expected to protect eight million people in the B40 category in this country,” he added.
For further information, visit the MySalam portal or send an email to [email protected].