KUALA LUMPUR: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) will take the lead by taking into consideration other factors when deciding eligible recipients for aid and assistance to be distributed by the agency.
Instead of solely looking at the household income of an individual or a family, the agency will also look into other factors such as the number of children and senior citizens under a person's responsibility and care as well as if the person is residing in the urban or rural areas.
Mara chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said this when he highlighted the need for a review of the income classification in the country following the rise in the cost of living.
"The (household income) definition of B40, M40 and T20 should be reviewed. It is no longer fitting to make a consideration only based on the household income (of an individual).
"They must also take into consideration other factors such as the number of children as well as senior citizens under the responsibility and care of an individual.
"Mara will take the lead (categorising a person's level of income not only based on their household income)," said Asyraf in a posting on his Facebook account today.
At present, he said, the government is using the following benchmark to determine the income category of a person or a family.
He said an average household income of below RM4,850 is categorised as B40 while those earning a household income of between RM4,851 and RM10,970 belongs to M40 category and those earning RM10,971 and above is categorised as people in the T20 income bracket.
"The reality is that the cost of living, which continues to rise, compounded by the other challenges of residing in the urban and rural areas, requires a holistic and fair approach by taking into consideration the net disposable income of a family," he said.
He cited a family residing in the city with five children and at the same time looking after a sick mother with a household income of RM5,000 as an example.
"Although the person falls under the M40 category, the fact is that the individual belongs to B40, after taking into consideration the available net disposable income," he said.
This is not the first time Asyraf voiced his concerns over the welfare and the wellbeing as well as the challenges based on a person or a family who are categorised as those belonging to the M40 income bracket.
Earlier this month, Asyraf said people residing in urban areas with four or more children, on a household income of RM8,000, face similar constraints as those in the B40 group.
He had said that this group of people also needed attention due to the burden that they face.