KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 — The appeal period for the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) has been extended to May 31, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced today.
Acknowledging complaints from the public who failed to receive the aid, Muhyiddin said this could be due to several reasons such as incomplete personal details or their income exceeded the eligibility criteria.
“But these people are actually those who have lost their jobs and income. Some of them who applied are also students which have received BPN aid under the student category which was why their BPN for the singles category was rejected.
“Taking all of these into consideration, the Finance Minister has agreed to extend the appeal period to May 31,” he said in a special address here.
The BPN assistance was among measures Muhyiddin had announced to try and assist Malaysians affected by the movement control order enforced to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Under the scheme, low- and middle-income households and unmarried workers will receive a one-off direct cash assistance worth RM500 to RM1,600.
Muhyiddin said those whose applications were unsuccessful could either email or visit any Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to submit their appeal starting tomorrow.
As for states celebrating Nuzul Al-Quran as a replacement public holiday tomorrow, applicants can visit IRB counters beginning May 12.
“I cannot promise that all appeals will be approved but for any appeal that fulfills the terms and are reasonable, insyaAllah it will be approved,” he said.
He also said the government had approved 2.3 million BPN applications to date including new applications and appeals, costing about RM1.7 billion.
This means that eligible BPN applicants to date stood at 10.6 million applicants benefiting from RM11 billion in direct assistance.
Applicants may check on the outcome of their submissions and appeals at the dedicated BPN page.
