Perikatan Nasional (PN) has promised to reintroduce the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) programme, with cash grants of up to RM6,000 a year or RM500 a month to low-income households, if given the opportunity to form the Federal Government.
According to a report by Sinar Harian, Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, shared that the people would also be given the freedom to spend using the assistance.
PN promises to provide RM6,000 a year to low-income households if it becomes the Federal Government
“From what the Government has presented, PN is confident that the country’s fiscal position has the capacity for us to introduce BPN of up to RM6,000 per year or RM500 per month to households that need it,”
“Unlike conditional and limited assistance such as the SARA (Sumbangan Asas Rahmah) scheme, which restricts the people’s choices, PN will give the people the freedom to determine their own spending on where and what they need,” he said.
The SARA assistance
This image is for illustration purposes only.
Under the SARA scheme, the Government allocated assistance in the form of non-cash credit amounting to between RM100 and RM1,200 per year to recipients of underprivileged households, based on eKasih data.
The assistance can only be used for the purchase of selected basic goods at participating supermarkets.
Through Budget 2026, the Government will once again provide SARA assistance of RM100 to 22 million Malaysians aged 18 and above. This aid will be distributed in mid-February.
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