Five trips to pick up invalid mum’s BR1M

AS my aged mother is an invalid, I, as the nominated next of kin, collect the BR1M payment on her behalf at Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN). The payment process at BSN is quite simple. I just show my identity card, birth certificate and mother’s identity card. Details of the next of kin are available online, making it easy for the bank’s personnel to confirm the identity.

However, the process is different this year, resulting in me having to make five trips to the bank.

Firstly, instead of receiving the BR1M voucher by mail, I had to go to a designated centre to collect it. There, I was asked why my mother could not come personally to collect the voucher. After showing the identity cards of my mother and mine, I was given the voucher.

Next, I went to BSN and was told I would need a letter from a doctor or the community, security and development committee (JKKKP) in our area to confirm my mother’s condition. My initial thoughts were to get a doctor’s letter as the BSN staff were not able to tell me more about the JKKKP. I thought about this for a few days and decided to go back to BSN for more information on the JKKKP as I could foresee the inconvenience of getting the letter from a doctor. This was the third trip.

The bank staff were unable to provide the information I required but were kind enough to give me a mobile phone number to contact. When I called the number, the gentleman who answered agreed to meet me at a nearby location to pass me the necessary document.

At this fourth trip, I had to show my mother’s and my identity cards before he issued the letter allowing me to collect the BR1M payment.

The final trip was to BSN to collect the first BR1M payment for 2017.

The payment process has been simplified since BR1M was implemented by crediting the amount into recipients’ bank accounts. Those who do not have a bank account get the money by presenting the voucher at any BSN branch.

There are many reasons why recipients do not have bank accounts. In my mother’s case, her thumbprint is unreadable. Even though she is an invalid, I have managed to take her to a bank to try to open an account. But we were unsuccessful because of the quality of her thumbprint.

Even if they are not aged and/or physically incapacitated, it is rather unkind to have them make a trip to designated centres to collect the vouchers. Some may not have the means to get there.

I do not agree that collecting BR1M vouchers from designated centres instead of having them mailed directly, as was done previously, would reduce the risk of vouchers being lost in the mail or sent to the wrong addresses, as reported in “Br1mming with joy” ( The Star Metro North, Feb 28).

If the letters notifying BR1M recipients to collect the vouchers can reach them, I see no reason why the vouchers should be lost in the mail. As for old addresses, BR1M recipients are responsible for updating their personal details, especially their address, yearly. If they don’t, all BR1M correspondence will not reach them.

I strongly appeal to the authorities to revert to the previous method of mailing the BR1M vouchers directly to recipients. I hope I would not have to go through the inconvenience of having to make more than one trip to collect BR1M payments on behalf of my mother in future. For collection by the next of kin, please also revert to the simple process of cash payment at BSN.