by HARIZAH KAMEL/ pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

THE government will be distributing the first phase of Household Living Aid (BSH) 2020 to registered recipients for the household category beginning Jan 20, 2020.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (picture) said the registered recipients are from last year’s BSH database.

“As announced in Budget 2020, the government will continue BSH to ensure the economic wellbeing of the people by helping the bottom 40% (B40) income group reduce their living costs.

“BSH 2019 database has undergone several filtering processes by government agencies including realistic vehicle ownership status for B40 to ensure only those in need receive the cash aid,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The allocation of up to RM1 billion will benefit nearly 3.8 million BSH recipients for the household category.

Lim said the first phase payment of RM300 per household will be credited directly to the recipients’ respective bank accounts using information from BSH 2019.

“To ensure that BSH 2020 programmes are targeted to those who are truly eligible, the application and update period will be open from Feb 1 to March 15.

“In addition to the household category, applications for BSH 2020 are also open to singles category, aged 40 and above, as announced in Budget 2020,” he said.

Applicants do not need to submit new or updated applications if their applications in 2019 passed without any change of information. This also applies to specially-abled (OKU) applicants who are listed as e-Bantuan recipients of the Social Welfare Department.

However, applicants will need to make a new application or update application if they have not registered for BSH Application (new category) or if they did not pass BSH 2019 applications and did not meet the eligibility requirements for BSH 2020.

OKU applicants who are not listed as e-Bantuan recipients but meet BSH 2020 eligibility requirements must also make a new application.

Once the BSH 2020 database is updated, the balance payments for the household category will be channelled in the second and third phases, while the single and OKU categories will be distributed one-off in the second phase, said Lim.

“With the application and updating processes, those who have not received BSH are still given the opportunity to submit their applications for re-verification.

“BSH recipients in rural areas for the household category with a bank account will also receive this payment on the same day, while recipients who do not have an account (payments) will be made from Feb 1 in cash,” he added.