PETALING JAYA: The third stage of Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH), formerly BR1M, will be paid out starting Aug 15 this year, says the Finance Ministry.

This is in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidiladha, which will take place on Aug 22.

An estimated total of RM1.6bil will be disbursed to approximately 4.1 million people.

In a statement on Friday (Aug 3), Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the Federal Government was committed to implementing the promises of the Pakatan Harapan manifesto.

"BSH payments will be credited directly to the respective recipient's account. For those with no account number, the letter of approval will be mailed directly to the address of the recipient, which can then be cashed at any nearby branch of Bank Simpanan Nasional," he added.

BR1M (1Malaysia People's Aid) was renamed BSH under the Pakatan Government.

With this third payout, the BSH disbursements so far will total RM6.2bil.

Although the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been repealed, said Lim, the country was not going bankrupt as alleged by the previous government, adding that the Pakatan Government was still able to continue giving out the BSH without GST revenues.

"In addition, a RM3bil fuel subsidy has been set up until the end of this year to stabilise RON95 and diesel prices at RM2.20 and RM2.18 per litre although international oil prices have climbed 42% to US$74 (RM302) per barrel compared to the previous US$52 (RM212) barrel," Lim added.

He also stressed that the RM1.6bil payment would be made under financial constraints as the Federal Government's debt had reached RM1 trillion "due to 1MDB's financial scandal and mismanagement".

"The Government hopes that this BSH will help the people to buy essential items and prepare to celebrate Hari Raya Aidiladha. I would like to emphasise that the Government will try its best to give priority to the people, especially the less fortunate," Lim added.

For further inquiries, the public can call the toll-free 1800-88-2716 or email to: bsh@treasury.gov.my