Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today announced a special aid of RM500 each to 388,111 smallholders in the country to help ease their burden due to the drop in rubber prices.

He said the one-off payment, involving RM194 million, would be disbursed to the smallholders beginning today.

"This aid is not because of the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-election as we have given it in 2013, 2014 and this is the third time.

"If there are people who said this aid (is given) because of the by-election, it is not true. This concerns the welfare of the rural community," he said at the presentation of the special aid here.