MALAYSIANS who travel abroad more than eight times a month risk losing their eligibility for the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) in a move to ensure the assistance benefits those who genuinely reside in the country, Sin Chew Daily reported.
They are deemed to have spent most of their time abroad and become ineligible for the assistance, according to the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).
In an e-mail reply to Sin Chew Daily, Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong said applicants whose assistance was rejected due to this may submit an appeal.
He said the appeal would be assessed based on data obtained from the Immigration Department and other relevant agencies, including factors such as income, property ownership and vehicle ownership.
Under LHDN guidelines, non-Malaysian citizens and Malaysians who reside overseas long-term, including in Singapore, are not eligible.
Malaysians who previously lived abroad but have since returned must first report their status to the Foreign Ministry before their eligibility can be reassessed.
> A family of four in Shenzhen, China, had to go to hospital after drinking a pot of “health tonic” made from ingredients they foraged from the wild, reported China Press.
The elderly father, who heard of the alleged health benefits from eating roots of the phyllanthus emblica plant (known locally as the yougan tree) during cold weather, went looking for it in the mountains.
He boiled the roots in some soup. After drinking the soup, the family members began experiencing nausea, vomiting and extreme fatigue.
The adult son suffered the worst symptoms and was taken to hospital.
A test revealed that his liver was not functioning properly, with alanine aminotransferase levels found to be 50 times above what was deemed normal.
All four recovered soon after.
Dr Wang Fang, director of the Hepatitis and Cirrhosis Department of the Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, warned the public that wild plants may contain toxins that can directly damage liver cells and are often not removed through normal cooking.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
