1. Bantuan Prihatin Nasional
For this category, there are various incentives provided by the government to eligible citizens with their main goal, protecting the people. Here's a list of aids provided. You can check which financial assistance you're eligible for:
a) As an appreciation for the frontliner, the government is giving special allowances for people who are fighting the current pandemic:
- Special allowance of RM 600/month to doctors and medical staff who are directly involved with the COVID-19 outbreak beginning 1 April 2020.
- Special allowance of RM200 per month to military, police, customs, immigration, members of the Civil Defense Force and RELA members who are directly involved in the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).
b) Other people who will benefit from this assistance include the M40:
- RM1,600 to people earning a monthly income of RM4,000 and below.
- RM1,000 to people earning over RM4,000 to RM8,000.
- RM800 individuals aged 21 and over earn a monthly income of RM2,000 and below.
- Bantuan Prihatin Tunai up to RM 250 to individuals aged 21 and above, earning RM 2,001 to RM 4,000 a month.
- Pre-retirement withdrawal from account B Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) up to RM1,500 per member.
- Free Internet to all customers until the end of MCO.
- Discounts range from 15% to 50% on electricity bills according to the usage rate.
- Monthly repayment deferment for rent-to-own (RTO) units for 6 months.
c) For this student or student who has a loan related to this education, you will be exempt from receiving this assistance:
- One-off assistance of RM200 per person to students in various levels of education including matriculation, community college, polytechnic, public university and private university.
- Repayment deferment of PTPTN and Perbadanan Tabung Pembangunan Kemahiran(PTPK) to all borrowers for 6 months.
d) For those who rent, some of you can get the following exceptions:
- Exemption of rent payment for PPR for six months.
- Six-month rental exemption for all Federal Government-owned premises such as school cafes, nursery, cafeteria, department store and more.
e) Also, civil servants and government retirees will receive additional assistance:
- One-off cash assistance of RM500 to civil servants in grades 56 and under including contract workers.
- One-off subsidy of RM500 to Government pensioners.
f) To those with affected income, the government offered the following assistance:
- The Government will provide RM600 a month per worker for a three-month income of less than RM4,000 and employers who have experienced a 50% decrease in income since January 1, 2020.
- RM500 one-off assistance to e-hailing drivers.
- Deferred payment of premiums or contributions offered by the insurers to the affected policyholders for 3 months.
- An income replacement fee of RM50 per day under MySalam for B40 group who are quarantined as patient and are under investigation (PUI).
- RM25 million for food assistance, healthcare and shelter, aid and homelessness centres through NGOs and social entrepreneurs.
- RM100 million to provide food storage infrastructure and distribution facilities as well as crop integration programs.
- RM1 billion for the Dana Jaminan Makanan.
- Special funds of RM 1000,000 to RM 200,000 to Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan (PPK) dan Pertubuhan Nelayan Kawasan (PNK).
How do I apply for Bantuan Prihatin Nasional?
Take note that for the B40, the data will be based on Bantuan Sara Hidup database. Meanwhile, for the M40, the data will be based on the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board (IRBM) database.Still confused about which category you belong to? Refer below table:
To make simple, if you're a registered BSH recipient and a taxpayer who's also registered with the IRB, you do not need to re-register. You just have to wait for the payment to be automatically credited into your registered bank account.
From 1 April 2020, you can review your status at the following sites:
1) Malaysian Inland Revenue Board: http://www.hasil.gov.my
2) Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH): https://bsh.hasil.gov.my
3) Ministry of Finance Malaysia: https://www.treasury.gov.my
2. RM500 EPF withdrawals (i-Lestari) of RM 500 a month
For this withdrawal, you can apply for i-Lestari Withdrawal beginning 1 April 2020. You are entitled to withdraw RM500 per month for 1 year from April 2020 to March 2021.
Want to know more about this? Read Covid-19 & 7 Other Things You Can Use Your EPF for
3. Bank loan deferment
You'd probably have some monthly commitments with the bank, right? Fret not because you can defer your loan repayment for the next 6 months.
Read this article for more: 4 Things You Need to Know About BNM’s Loan Repayment Moratorium
4. RM600 from SOCSO
If you are contributing to SOCSO, then you can take advantage of it under the Employee Insurance Scheme (EIS). You'll be given RM600 per month if you're forced to take unpaid leaves by the employer due to the economic impact of the COVID-19.
Read more here, if you want to know how to get it: COVID-19: Forced Unpaid Leaves? Get Your RM600 Financial Aid!
