KUALA LUMPUR: Despite Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s continued criticism of the handing out of cash assistance, the government has announced that the Cost of Living Aid (Cola) will continue next year.
In tabling the 2020 Budget at the Dewan Rakyat today, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the government has agreed to allocate RM5 billion under the Cola scheme to assist the low-income group.
Lim said for next year, the cash aid would be expanded to also include 1.1 million single individuals aged above 40 years old, who are earning below RM2,000 a month.
“Disabled Persons (OKU) aged 18 and above with a monthly income of below RM2,000 will also be eligible for Cola.
“Both single individuals above 40 and OKU individuals are entitled for a cash assistance of RM300 and will automatically be recipients of the MySalam Takaful Scheme for free,” he said.
Last year, Lim announced that households earning RM2,000 and below would receive cash assistance of RM1,000, household earning between RM2,001 and RM3,000 will receive RM750 each, while those earning between RM3,001 and RM4,000 will receive RM500.
Under Barisan Nasional, households earning less than RM3,000 would receive RM1,200 in BR1M payment for the year 2018, while households earning between RM3,000 and RM4,000 received RM900 each.
