PUTRAJAYA, Jan 17 — Within less than 48 hours since the commencement of the e-Tunai Rakyat programme, RM18.8 million has been spent, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The programme saw an impressive uptake by Malaysians, receiving 784,000 applications as of 10pm last night, of which 672,000 had been approved.
“I hope that all Malaysians will take advantage of this programme, as this is a present from the Pakatan Harapan government,” he said.
Lim said this to the media after witnessing the signing of a supplemental agreement to the project delivery partner (PDP) agreement between Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) and MMC Gamuda KVMRT (PDP SSP) Sdn Bhd here today.
He dismissed concerns of personal data intrusion, saying that the data collected would not be shared with interested parties.
“If we want to talk about data, it is already on the identity cards. If there is any benefit to be gained (from this exercise), it will be in terms of tracking usage trends.
“So please do not get influenced by certain parties who may be jealous of the good response this programme has received. They are trying to belittle this programme," he said.
An estimated 15 million Malaysians are eligible to claim the RM30 e-credit under the e-Tunai Rakyat programme from the three participating e-wallet platforms — Boost, GrabPay and Touch 'n Go eWallet.
Under the programme, Malaysians aged 18 years and above who earn less than RM100,000 annually are eligible to receive RM30 in e-credit each through any of the participating e-wallets.
The monies obtained under the programme must be spent between Jan 15 and March 14, 2020, and any unspent portion will expire after that period.
Each claim will be checked against the data from the National Registration Department and the Inland Revenue Board to ascertain the claimant’s eligibility for the programme, after which the e-credit will be disbursed within five working days. — Bernama
