BUDGET 2018 | Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, in his Budget 2018 speech to Parliament today, said cash payments of up to RM1,200 through the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) programme will be maintained.
"BR1M had benefited seven million recipients with an allocation of RM6.8 billion.
"Therefore, in 2018, seven million recipients will continue to enjoy this pay-out with a maximum rate of RM1,200," he said.
Najib in his speech also accused the opposition, which had constantly criticised the BR1M policy, of making a U-turn.
"The opposition, which was so negative towards this initiative, had accused it of being animal feed (dedak) and bait, but have unashamedly made a U-turn with news that the Penang government too had acknowledged the merits of BR1M," he said.
Based on the BR1M payment this year, households earning less than RM3,000 received RM1,200 in BR1M payment while households earning between RM3,000 and RM4,000 received RM900 each.
For singles making less than RM2,000 a month, they received RM450.
The BR1M policy was first introduced in 2012 with a payment of RM500 to households making less than RM3,000 a month.
It was meant to help cushion the impact to vulnerable groups following Putrajaya's move to scale back subsidies in the country.
