About 600,000 new applicants for the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) this year were rejected because their incomes exceeded RM4,000.

Some of the applicants rejected were those with incomes of between RM8,000 and RM12,000, Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani revealed today.

"We had to reject 600,000 applicants because their salaries exceeded RM4,000. Some earning RM 12,000 a month also applied.

"Those (rejected) with incomes over RM5,000 totalled 260,000 applicants, while 40,000 applicants had salaries ranging between RM6,000 and RM8,000. The rest of the rejected applicants were raking in between RM8,000 and RM 12,000 a month.

"This is why we require further clarification. We don't want to channel the RM700 million (BR1M allocation) to those who do not deserve it," Johari said at a press conference in Parliament House today.

One of the stipulations for the receipt of BR1M is that it is only to be given to households with an income of RM4,000 and below.

Johari also said his ministry has instructed the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to issue BR1M payments to the 705,562 recipients who had qualified for BR1M payments last year.

"New applicants have to fulfil the requirements. They cannot give incomplete documentation. This has nothing to do with the Companies Commission Malaysia (CCM) as we have our own process for verification.

"So, there is no need to remove their names from the CCM registration. Even those with CCM registration, if their income is below RM4,000, we will approve their applications," Johari added.

Prior to this, some individuals who received BR1M last year said they were denied the cash aid this year, supposedly linked to the fact that there are company registrations with the CCM under their names.