Consider lump sum BSH payment for interior folk, Finance Ministry urged
MIRI: The Finance Ministry should consider giving rural folk in Sarawak their Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) allowance in one lump sum instead of in phases, due to the high cost they would have to incur to claim the cash payment, says PKR Hulu Rajang chairman Abun Sui Anyit.
Speaking at a press conference organised by Miri MP Dr Michael Teo here yesterday, Abun said the cost for one person to travel from Hulu Rajang to Bintulu can reach as high as RM200.
“Imagine getting RM300 for the first phase (of BSH) and after deducting the transportation cost, the recipient would only have RM100 left and may have to use it for accommodation for the night if he is unable to make it back the same day.
“Therefore I would like to ask the Finance Ministry to provide an exemption for the rural population and to give the BSH in a lump sum,” he said.
The first phase
2020 payments of for each household of BSH RM300 will be credited directly into the bank accounts of recipients using the information in the BSH 2019 database beginning Jan 20, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced Monday.
Lim said recipients residing in rural areas and do not have bank accounts will be given a cash payment, beginning Feb 1.
Abun said the same scenario applied for the PeKa B40 healthcare protections scheme, where residents in the interior have to pay to travel to the city to undergo the required medical checkup.
He said he also hoped for more outreach programmes to be organised to send doctors to the interior to check on PeKa B40 recipients, and subsequently for the mySalam, as the majority of these rural folk have not had their medical checkups due to the costs involved.
PKR Baram vice chairman Philip Jau, who was also present at the press conference, concurred with Abun, saying folk in his area face the same issue whereby many feel that it is not worth for them to travel to the city to claim the BSH aid due to the transportation and accommodation costs involved.
Dr Teo, meanwhile, said he is working with the Health Ministry to arrange for PeKa B40 outreach programmes in rural areas like Long Lama, Long San and others.
“It is quite expensive for them to come down to Miri, so I am going to do this outreach programme where the doctors will go down to the rural areas to help,” he said.