17,000 rubber smallholders apply for RM261 million ‘rainy season’ special aid
PUTRAJAYA: More than 17,000 rubber smallholders have applied for a special aid totalling RM261 million allocated by the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry to ease their burden during the rainy season.
The aid, called “Bantuan Musim Tengkujuh” (BMT), was announced on Sept 1 for some 440,000 rubber smallholders, where each of them will receive RM200 per month from November to January next year.
Plantation Industries and Commodities minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said 17,163 smallholders had applied for the aid, meant to ease their burden during the rainy season, through the Malaysian Rubber Board.
“The highest number of applicants are from Kelantan, followed by Kedah, Pahang and Perak,” Mah said, adding that two mobile apps, LGM BMT and eBantuan, had been introduced to make it easier for the smallholders to apply for the aid. “Rubber smallholders can also apply for the financial aid by filling up a form at the board’s office,” he said after attending the ministry’s monthly gathering here yesterday.
The board will take about two weeks to process the applications and the aid will be credited directly to the accounts of the smallholders who are registered with the board.
Mah said the rubber industry remained a key sector and the government was committed to keeping it that way through replanting programmes and research and development efforts.
Mah said some 37,000ha of land had been replanted with rubber in the first six months of this year, and that RM22 million was approved by the cabinet for the same purpose last month.