KUALA LUMPUR:More than 545,000 micro-traders nationwide have received Prihatin Special Grant (GKP) benefit of RM3,000 on a one-off basis with an allocation of RM1.63 billion.

Minister of Finance, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, said for GKP 2.0, the applications received until last October 31 have reached 512,000.

"To ensure that micro SMEs are truly eligible to receive this assistance for the survival of their businesses, each application will be cross-checked or verified with agency data set by the government, including at the local authority level.

"Based on initial expectations, the number to be approved far exceeds the initial target set of 200,000 micro SMEs," he said when replying to a question from Kota Melaka Member of Parliament, Khoo Poay Tiong in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.

Applicants can check their status starting November 27 and the payment date is expected on November 30. 

Tengku Zafrul also explained that among the failure of the application was due to not holding a license from the Local Authority (PBT), not registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and the number of employees exceeds five.

Prihatin Special Grant will be given to eligible Micro SMEs with the aim of alleviating the financial burden of businesses due to COVID-19 as well as increasing service productivity for the continuity of business.