KUALA LUMPUR: The Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) scheme might be revived as Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has confirmed that the Cabinet supports a second round of RM500 handouts to the lower income groups.
He however,pointed out that any decision on the matter will be made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
"The PM is very generous. It is up to him,"he said,after launching Perkasa Usaha Untuk Cipta Kejayaan (Puncak),a new project to spur vocational training for school dropouts.
He said that he supports a second round of handouts as he considers it a highly successful programme.
He knows that Najib was aware of the issue as he is in touch with grassroots needs.
The first round of handouts,which started on Jan 15,was done with a budget of RM2.6 billion,with RM500 provided to every household earning below RM3,000 monthly.
Puncak is a new project under the Pemuafakatan Badan Ilimiah Nasional (Pembina),an NGO chaired by Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal,who is also the rural and regional development minister.
Puccak provides vocational and skills training,especially training on--the--job models,for school dropouts so that they have better career prospects.
Puncak was first launched on Feb 4 in Shah Alam,while in Gombak,it was initiated yesterday,with 329 applications being considered by the organisation.
Muhyiddin said that he expects more skilled manpower to help spur the country's economy.
"There's no reason to have unemployed youths when opportunities are abundant.
It's a matter of having skilled manpower,"he said. He claimed that Malaysia is one of the ten most economically competitive countries in the world.