KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 19): Middle 40% income (M40) earners who have lost their jobs or whose financial circumstances have changed can appeal to the government for assistance and have their eligibility reassessed, the Dewan Rakyat was told on Monday.

Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong said the appeal mechanism allows individuals to seek a review of their eligibility based on their current financial circumstances rather than previous income records.

“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 (Barisan Nasional-Kuala Pilah) on how M40 households facing job losses or reduced income could have their eligibility for targeted assistance reassessed.

Liew said the government also aims to expand the middle-income group so that it would eventually outnumber the bottom 40% income (B40) group, as part of efforts to improve Malaysians' socio-economic standing.

“One of our country's challenges is that the middle-income group is smaller than the lower-income group. Our aspiration is to build a middle class that is larger than the B40 group,” he said.

Liew acknowledged the financial pressures faced by M40 households, saying Budget 2027 introduced several measures to ease their cost-of-living burden.

These include raising the individual income tax relief from RM9,000 to RM12,000, the first revision since 2010.

Tax relief for medical expenses has also been expanded to cover postnatal care services, while education-related relief now includes all fields of study and children's tuition fees.

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