Tengku Zafrul said the BKM Phase 2, as announced by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently, has been improved with additional cash assistance totalling RM630 million, bringing the allocation under the scheme to RM8 billion.

He said the maximum BKM rate was RM2,600 compared with RM1,200 for BR1M and RM1,480 under BSH.

“That is an increase of 120% since the direct cash assistance initiative was first introduced,” he said in a statement.

“This is mainly due to the increase in the eligibility limit for BKM recipients, from households with an income of RM4,000 or less per month (under BSH) to RM5,000 or less per month for BKM.”

He said increasing the eligibility limit saw the number of BKM recipients almost double to 8.6 million from the 4.5 million under BSH.

This meant that more Malaysian families were eligible to receive such cash assistance, including some in the M40 group.

With the expansion, BKM now benefited 12.6 million individuals, equivalent to 60% of adults in the country.

“The finance ministry will continue to monitor external factors that could hurt the domestic economic situation to ensure the cost of living is under control,” he said.

On June 22, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced additional cash assistance under BKM of RM100 for households and RM50 for single individuals after the government took into account the cost of living challenges and the recent increase in food prices.

Tengku Zafrul said BKM Phase 2 would be paid in stages to eligible recipients from today and benefit four million households, 1.2 million senior citizens (single/without a partner) and 3.4 million single individuals.

Those eligible may check their payment status at https://bkm.hasil.gov.my.