The government has approved 34,700 or 66 percent of the 52,415 Orang Asli applications for the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M 2.0) this year.

Rural and Regional Development Deputy Minister Hasan Malek said the overall allocation amounted to RM14.8 million and was expected to be distributed early this month.

"The applications comprise 10,139 single individuals who will receive RM250 each and 24,561 heads of households getting RM500 each," he told reporters after opening the Orang Asli Development Department 9th sports carnival at the Sukpa stadium, in Kuantan today.

He said the Inland Revenue Board will determine the rest of the applications to see if they were eligible for the aid.

Touching on the sports carnival, he said it was a good platform to discover potential athletes from within the Orang Asli community.

"The Orang Asli are strong and have great energy.  They'll be able to make the country proud if their sporting talents are tapped," he said.

About 900 people participated in the four-day carnival.

- Bernama