KUALA LUMPUR: More than 30,000 applicants, farmers and small-scale commodity growers have been approved to receive cash subsidy assistance under the BUDI MADANI initiative, as of today.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said that the recipients will receive first cash assistance amounting to RM200 each which will be disbursed on June 10 through their bank accounts, while those without a bank account can claim the subsidy in cash by bringing MyKad to any Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) branch throughout Peninsular Malaysia.

"Eligible applicants can still register to receive BUDI MADANI. Applications submitted in June 2024 are eligible to receive payment for both June and the following month," the ministry said in a statement today.

"Applications submitted after June 2024 will only qualify to receive payments starting in July 2024 and will not include June payment," read the statement.

BUDI MADANI is the government's effort to ensure subsidy allocations are targeted to eligible groups including individual assistance (BUDI Individu), farmers and small-scale growers (BUDI Agri-Komoditi) as well as companies and transport vehicles (MySubsidi Diesel).

MOF also said that the application data thus far found that the majority of applicants were not approved as they did not meet the eligibility criteria set, among them farmers and small-scale growers who were not registered with the relevant ministry's agencies.

Therefore, MOF reminds individual applicants who were not approved to check their application status and submit an appeal on the BUDI MADANI website which is https://budimadani.gov.my.

Farmers and small-scale growers who have not yet registered with the agencies under the relevant ministry are advised to do so first, before submitting the BUDI MADANI application.

For more information on BUDI MADANI eligibility requirements, visit https://budimadani.gov.my or contact the BUDI MADANI helpline at 1-800-88-2747 / 03-8882 4565 / 03-8882 4566 or email at budimadani@treasury.gov.my as well as visiting any Inland Revenue Board (IRB) offices throughout Peninsular Malaysia.

It is estimated that a total of 300,000 individual diesel vehicle owners in Peninsular Malaysia are eligible to receive Individual BUDI while a total of 68,000 farmers, 8,000 livestock breeders and 34,000 small-scale aquaculture operators are qualified to receive benefits from BUDI Agri-Komoditi.

-- BERNAMA