THE government has announced additional measures to its earlier Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) following the first Economic Action Council (EAC) meeting on March 16, such as an extension by a maximum of six months the RM600 monthly cash payment to workers who were placed on unpaid leave. The cash assistance is for workers who received their notice of unpaid leave from March 1.
Also part of new measures is RM2 bil for rural infrastructure works which will be carried out by small Bumiputera contractors.
The RM20 bil ESP was announced on Feb 27 by former prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
The EAC, at its first meeting which was chaired by prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, also agreed for some mega projects, which were announced in Budget 2020, to continue.
These include the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), MRT2 and the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP).
Meanwhile, affected workers will also be entitled to claims under the Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) if their remuneration does not exceed RM4,000 a month. It is projected that the assistance will benefit 33,000 workers at a cost of RM120 mil to the government.
Under the ESP, companies in the tourism sector which were affected by the Covid-19 outbreak will receive a 15% discount on their electricity bills for six months from April 1 to Sept 30.
This benefit has been extended to all users in the commercial, industrial and agriculture sectors as well as domestic users. They will be entitled to a 2% discount for their electricity bills from April 1 to Sept 30.
The 2% discount will cost an estimated RM500 mil to the government. This benefit would apply to more than 10 million households, commercial organisations and agricultural users.
The next Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) payment has been brought forward to March 16 from a later date in May . The RM200 each under BSH will cost the government RM760 mil and will benefit 3.8 mil households.
The additional BSH payment of RM100 as announced under the ESP will be paid in May . This payment will cost the government RM500 mil and will benefit 5 million households.
Small projects announced under the ESP valued at a total of RM2 bil will begin to be implemented from April. The implementation will be monitored by the Chief Secretary to the Government and a weekly report will be produced for the prime minister.
These projects will focus on rural infrastructure and will be carried out by small Bumiputera contractors.
The statement added that through a circular dated March 16, the ceiling for the contract tender bids for these projects has been increased from RM50,000 to RM80,000 and the quotation ceiling from RM500,000 to RM800,000. – March 16, 2020
