Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on April 10, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR: Members of Parliament (MPs) and public figures who have automatically received the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) cash handouts were deemed eligible based on their income tax assessment data for the year 2018.

In a statement to clarify the BPN payout, the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) said that recipients who received the handout without registration have been vetted automatically based on individual income assessment data for the year 2018 or the Cost of Living Aid (BSH) database.

The database includes MPs and public figures, the IRB said.

“Early checks by the IRB found that the process to determine BPN recipients is in order, and those who were approved have a taxable income level within the range of income that is eligible for BPN.

“Referring to the issue where several MPs and public figures were also eligible to receive BPN, it should be clarified here that the approval was made automatically based on the individual’s income assessment data for the year 2018 in the IRB’s records.

“However, the IRB welcomes MPs who have voluntarily returned the BPN handout,” it said, and also underlined steps for anyone who wishes to return the handout.

There were reports earlier this week that pointed out high-level individuals were found to be eligible for BPN, based on identity card (IC) number checks on the BPN portal.

Following the reports, some MPs who conducted checks on the portal using their IC number, questioned why they are deemed eligible for the aid.
 

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