M40 households can appeal for a reassessment of their eligibility for targeted assistance if they become unemployed or suffer a drop in income, says Liew Chin Tong.
The Deputy Finance Minister said the appeals are intended for individuals whose circumstances have changed but whose previous income records remain above the qualifying threshold.
“The reassessment of eligibility is based on their current financial standing rather than their previous income level, which rendered such individuals unqualified for government targeted assistance.
“Appeals are open every day, including for those who have become unemployed.
“Anyone whose financial circumstances have changed can submit an appeal,” he said during Question Time.
Liew was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Adnan Abu Hassan (BN-Kuala Pilah) on how M40 households facing job losses or reduced income could have their eligibility for targeted assistance reassessed.
Liew said data is available on the M40 and middle-income groups, while the Economy Ministry is conducting a study on the T15 high-income household classification.
“The real problem in our country is that the middle class is smaller than the lower-income group. What the government wants is for us, one day, to have a middle class that is bigger than the B40,” he said.
Liew noted that Budget 2027 includes a range of measures aimed at ensuring M40 households are not left out of government assistance.
These include higher individual tax relief, lower tax rates for selected income bands, expanded tax reliefs, aid payments, electricity subsidy protection and public transport savings.
He cited the increase in individual tax relief from RM9,000 to RM12,000 – the first revision since 2010 – as an example.
Liew also highlighted the reduction in the tax rate to 18% for taxable income between RM70,001 and RM100,000, and to 24% for taxable income between RM100,001 and RM150,000.
He said tax reliefs have also been expanded to cover postnatal care, a wider range of expenses for caring for parents and grandparents, sports shoes, children’s tuition fees and subscriptions to artificial intelligence services.
Liew added that RM100 under Sara Madani will be disbursed twice, before Hari Raya Aidilfitri and ahead of the country’s 70th Merdeka celebrations, with up to 13 million Malaysians, including those in the M40 group, expected to benefit.
He also said electricity subsidy protection will be extended to households using up to 800 kilowatt-hours a month, benefiting up to 90% of domestic users.
The government will also continue the My50 monthly pass for 300,000 bus and rail users in the Klang Valley and introduce the MyKomuter50 pass for 40,000 KTM Komuter users.
Other measures included a RM750mil allocation for Jualan Rahmah Madani and Jualan Agro Madani, with 35,000 sales programmes planned, as well as an increase in Bantuan Awal Persekolahan from RM150 to RM200 per pupil.
