Put jobless and retirees without income in urban poor group

I REFER to the report “BR1M for urban poor may be reviewed” ( The Star, March 8), which quoted deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Othman Aziz as saying that the Government is considering a review of the BR1M payments to the urban poor.

It is indeed a good move by the Government as the cost of living has been on the rise and it is affecting those living in the city more severely. But how would the Government evaluate which group of BR1M recipients should come under the category of “urban poor”? We know that BR1M recipients comprise different categories of the population and the amount they receive depends on various income brackets.

The Government should consider categorising those BR1M recipients who are jobless and retirees who have no income whatsoever, receiving only meagre allowances from their children, if any, under “urban poor”. The BR1M payouts plus their meagre allowances are hardly enough for their monthly expenditure as they are badly affected by the high cost of living.

Currently, these BR1M recipients are getting similar payouts as those who receive some form of income every month, so there is a need to rectify the situation.

It would therefore be a great relief for these “urban poor” BR1M recipients if the Government considers granting additional financial assistance under BR1M to them.

MRS CHAN Melaka