Why can't youths use eBelia credits to pay bills, activist asks

 

An activist has questioned why youths can't use the RM150 e-wallet credits from the eBelia programme to pay their bills.

“Is it (e-wallet credit) to purchase items on online platforms such as Shopee and Lazada?” Nurul Rifayah Muhammad Iqbal asked in a statement today.

The eBelia credits can be claimed from e-wallet apps Touch 'n Go, Boost, Bigpay, and ShopeePay, by youths aged 18-20, as well as full-time undergraduates.

According to the Finance Ministry's FAQ, the eBelia credits are meant to "ease the burden on youths’ expenses" while encouraging businesses to accept cashless payments.

However, its terms and conditions stipulate that it can't be used to pay for utility or telco bills integrated into the participating e-wallets.

Rifayah said such restrictions prevent youths from using the e-wallet credits for meaningful purposes.

“Without a proper and robust subsidy for electricity and water bills, it is the little things that count for youths.

“Little things like reducing parents’ burdens, helping to pay monthly house rental, electric bills, telecommunication bills, water bills and others are truly what youths want in this Covid-19 pandemic era,” she said.

The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) pro-tem central executive committee member added that youths seeking to get mental health care may also find it difficult to pay for treatment using the eBelia credits.

She said they were also facing issues redeeming the credits from some of the e-wallet partners such as Touch 'n Go, due to service disruptions.

Rifayah thus questioned why the government did not opt to grant eligible youths hard cash instead - which will be more readily usable, including at shops not equipped to accept e-wallet payments.

The 18-year-old said there were also youths who do not have smartphones, therefore they were unable to redeem the eBelia funds.

These youths, she said, were most likely from B40 families and would be among the hardest hit by the total lockdown that came into effect today.

The eBelia initiative was launched by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin earlier today.

Originally, under Budget 2021, eligible recipients would receive RM100, but this was increased to RM150.

Muhyiddin said some 2 million youths would benefit from the payout. - Mkini