M40: The govt’s ‘forgotten child’ yet again

KUALA LUMPUR: The government should extend cash handouts to middle-income earners (M40) to help cushion the impact of rising prices, said netizens.

They said this in response to Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement yesterday that the government will provide an additional cash relief of RM100 to B40 households and RM50 for singles.

“Middle-income families are often excluded from government financial assistance programmes when in fact many of them are in dire circumstances,” a user wrote on Facebook.

“We’re all feeling the pinch, so all Malaysians B40 and M40 need financial help,” said another.

“(Financial aid) only for B40 again? What about other (income) groups? With such drastic rising costs of living, M40 is also in need of assistance,” a user commented.

“M40 is forgotten again. We are also suffering,” a Facebook user wrote.

M40 income group refers to household income of between RM4,851 and RM10,970 per month.

Ismail Sabri had said this additional aid was to ease the financial burden of the people amid the rising cost of living and food prices recently, as well as for the coming Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration.

The prime minister said the payout was on top of the Phase 2 Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) assistance, involving RM1.1 billion, where each recipient would receive RM400 according to their category of eligibility.

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