By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, March 14: The second phase of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) distribution is slated to begin next month, says Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“I have instructed the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and relevant agencies to resolve the second phase STR distribution for B40 groups during mid-Ramadan month or early April and insyaAllah, two weeks before the Raya Aidilfitri celebration,” he said when responding to a supplementary question by Sungai Petani MP Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari during the question-and-answer session in Parliament today.
Meanwhile, for STR Phase 1, he said the distribution of the assistance has been completed in January this year involving an allocation of RM1.6 billion.
He also mentioned that as of yesterday (March 13), a total of 320,103 applicants have registered and are eligible for STR.
“I hope those who are eligible to receive STR will apply soon before March 31 so that this assistance can be distributed before Ramadan,” he added.
For the record, STR would be distributed in four phases, namely in January, April, July and November this year.
The payment would be credited to the bank account of the recipient or his/her spouse. For cases of no bank account details or failed credit payment, the assistance would be channeled to the recipient by cash payment at Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) counters.
At the same time, he informed the Dewan that the government has announced an additional aid of RM600 to the hardcore poor STR recipient households according to e-Kasih data.
The additional aid, which was first announced on Feb 24, would be channeled in the form of food baskets and vouchers for basic necessity items worth RM100 for a period of six months. — DayakDaily
