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With many of us hoping that the start of 2021 would bring something better after the difficult year of 2020, we Malaysians may face new financial concerns with all states except Sarawak under an MCO until 4 February.

If you need extra cash to help manage your finances, read on to see if there’s government cash assistance that you could get this year.

The Malaysian Economic and Rakyat Protection Assistance Package (Permai)
On 18 Jan 2021, the Prime Minister announced a new aid package called Permai, which includes cash assistance.

What can you get?

• One-off payment of RM500 to healthcare frontliners and RM300 to other frontline workers in the first quarter of 2021
• Extension of RM600 special monthly allowance to healthcare frontliners and RM200 to other frontline workers until the Covid-19 pandemic ends
• One-off RM500 financial assistance to tour guides and tour bus, taxi, school bus, rental car and e-hailing drivers

Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR):
Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR), which will replace Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH), is the latest cash assistance programme introduced to help the B40.

Who can get it?
Malaysians with a household income of RM5,000 or below and previous recipients of BSH 2020 and Bantuan Prihatin Nasional Phase 2 (BPN 2.0). Click here to check if you can get BPR.

What can you get? 

How do you apply?
If you didn’t receive BSH 2020 or BPN 2.0 cash assistance, you need to make a new application for BPR. Previous recipients of BSH 2020 and BPN 2.0 won’t need to apply but have to update their information during the same period. You can apply or update your information from 15 Jan 2021 to 15 Feb 2021. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, applicants are advised to apply online and check for updates at bpr.hasil.gov.my or the BPR 2021 mobile app. You can also apply in person by filling the form from BPR’s official portal and submitting it to Inland Revenue (LHDN) branches, LHDN Revenue Service Centres or LHDN Urban Transformation Centre (UTC).

When can you get it?
Payments will be sent in two phases:

• the first in February 2021
• the second in September/October 2021

BPR payments will be directly credited to your bank account. If you don’t have a bank account, you can receive the money via a Bank Simpanan Nasional branch. 

For further enquiries, you can call BPR’s Inland Revenue (LHDN) hotline at 1-800-88-2747, BPR’s Ministry of Finance hotline at 03-8882 4565/03-8882 4566. You can also email them at bpr@treasury.gov.my

Bantuan Prihatin Nasional Phase 2 (BPN 2.0)
The second instalment of BPN 2.0 cash assistance will be paid to recipients by the end of Jan 2021, after the first payment was completed in Oct 2020. So, if you’d gotten the first payment in Oct 2020, you can look forward to getting your next payment soon. 

If you applied for BPN 2.0 during 15 Oct – 15 Nov 2020 as a new applicant, or had re-applied due to your BPN application being rejected the first time, you’ll receive the full amount of cash assistance from 21 Jan 2021 onwards if your application was successful.

Applicants can check the status of their application on BPN’s official portal from 15 Jan 2021 onwards. 

Here’s what you can get:

For more details on what you can get, who can get it, and how and when you’ll get paid, read our blog post on BPN 2.0. For further enquiries on BPN, you can call LHDN at 03-89111000 or 1800-88-2747.

So, if you’ve lost income because of the Covid-19 crisis and need cash, check if you can get help from the government. Remember to take the opportunity to apply for BPR if you qualify and if you applied for BPN 2.0 in Oct-Nov 2020, don’t forget to check if your application is approved.

Apart from cash aid, the government has also announced other aid such as the loan moratorium, tax reliefs and subsidies, among others. For the full list of government aid offered, you can check out the Prime Minister’s speech here.

Interested in how to set and achieve your savings goals?

You can also use our savings goal calculator to help you plan your savings goals and our budget calculator to help manage your budget.

If you have a loan to repay, here are some tips to reduce your debts.