Ravindran Duraisamy

Thursday, 17 November 2011 11:38

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The 5.3 million school students in the country will receive RM100 each by the end of the month and the payout is the start of the free cash and incentives disbursement like promised in the 2012 Budget. Other than the students, the poor family heads and single mothers will also receive cash handouts to help them make ends meet in one of the biggest ever welfare exercise conducted by the government.

The disbursement of the cash and incentives are expected to continue into 2012. So what are the other goodies awaiting Malaysians?

RM500 for Households Earning Below RM3,000

The 2012 Budget allocated RM500 for households with income below RM3,000 per month. To claim the money, one has to fill up the relevant forms available at the nearest Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) office. The LHDN will verify the eligibility of the applicant using the Centralised National Poverty Databank (e-Kasih) under the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department. The database has registered 331,000 poor households since its launch in 2007.

The payment would be disbursed in January 2012 through banks, including Bank Simpanan Nasional. LHDN will coordinate the disbursement to ensure the money goes into the right pocket. Those who believe that they deserve the incentive, they should come forward without any reservation to claim their money.

This contribution of RM500 will be of great help to the households that need to pay towards the ever increasing living expenses. The Government has allocated RM1.8 billion for this purpose.

RM100 for Every Student

A sum of RM100 payable to each school student as mentioned earlier will further ease the burden of the parents who have to pay for school bus fare, uniforms, shoes, schools bags and stationery when the new school term starts in January. This RM100 is paid to every student from Standard One to Form Five irrespective of the household income, meaning a family with six school going children will receive a total of RM600.

The government has to fork out RM530 million for this purpose. Also, schools will stop collecting co-curriculum fees and insurance premiums. As a replacement the government has allocated RM150 million. This is another savings all households will enjoy irrespective of their income bands.

Book Vouchers Worth RM200

Good news for Form Six and matriculation students, and undergraduates, book vouchers worth RM200 are available to all. The respective students can collect their vouchers through their schools, universities or colleges.

This incentive will help alleviate the financial burden of the needy students who need to purchase books for their revision and lectures. A total of RM260 million have been allocated for this provision.

RM500 for Pensioners

Pensioners too have every reason to smile as they too get a one off RM500 payment, a boon for their welfare.

Salary Increment from RM80 - RM320

A new service scheme - Skim Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA) – is expected to be introduced for civil servants by mid-2012 with their salaries adjusted with an increment between RM80 - 320. This is a morale booster for civil servants who have yet to see an increment since the last one in 2007.

Another Half Month Bonus

Government servants are expected to get another half months bonus in December making it one month bonus for 2011. This will help in their yearend expenses and pump in more money into the economy.

RM300mil for Micro Financing

Budget 2012 has allocated funds for micro financing to small entrepreneurs, particularly women. Non-Bumi entrepreneurs too have been allocated up to RM100 million through a special unit under Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM). Smaller businesses will greatly benefit from this move.

Ravindran Duraisamy is a qualified tax agent and chartered accountant and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia and The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants UK.

- Bernama