PUTRAJAYA, Feb 20 — The Finance Ministry has received more than 900,000 applications for the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) 2019 cash aid since it was opened on Feb 1.

It said of these, about 200,000 were new applications and 700,000 were updated cases.

The ministry said the process of registering for BSH 2019 had been simplified including accepting the application forms even though the applicant did not submit complete sets of copies of personal identification documents.

"The form will be processed based on the information in it as submitted by the applicant,” it said in a statement today.

The Finance Ministry said the applicants could also submit online applications where it was no longer compulsory to upload their documents. 

BSH applicants aged 60 years and above need not update their information unless there are any changes as the Department of Inland Revenue will use the BSH 2018 to process their applications, it said.

"However, the information obtained from the applicants will be matched with data from such agencies as the National Registration Department to determine the eligibility of each application,” he said.

For further information, applicants can contact the toll-free number 1-800-88-2747 or send an email to bsh@treasury.gov.my. The closing date for BSH 2019 applications is March 15.

In his Budget 2019 speech, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the BSH is expected to benefit more than four million households and involves an allocation of RM5 billion. — Bernama