BWI applications never closed, says PM

KUALA LUMPUR: The application for compassionate aid (BWI) has never been closed and the government will continue granting it to the people affected by disasters, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic).

In fact, he said the aid will continue to be granted to the victims each time they were struck by disaster.

"The application for BWI has never been closed. The government will grant it to the people every time a disaster strikes. If they were struck by disaster twice, then the government will grant them (the BWI) twice. That’s my order,” the Prime Minister tweeted on Thursday (Dec 23).

He was replying to Segambut Member of Parliament (MP) Hannah Yeoh’s tweet in which she criticised the government for allegedly announcing the aid without any details only to close the application on Friday (Dec 24).

In his tweet, the Prime Minister also asked Yeoh to get her facts right before criticising so as not to confuse the people.

"It’s better to fact-check first, don’t simply trust the information on WhatsApp. It confuses people,” he said.

The government had earlier agreed to increase the BWI from RM500 to RM1,000 for each head of household affected by the northeast monsoon or other disasters acknowledged by the central disaster management committee.

The BWI initiative, which is expected to help alleviate the financial burden of 39,100 heads of households, involves an allocation of RM39.5 million from the National Disaster Relief Trust Fund. - Bernama