FORMER Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak urged the Government to impose an “eviction moratorium” during lockdown period to deter tenants from being evicted by premise owners for failing to pay rental.
“Several countries such as the US have imposed a temporary law barring premise owners from evicting tenants who are unable to pay rental during lockdown.
“Malaysia should enact such legislation on a humanitarian basis, especially with our Government imposing multiple movement restriction with no end in sight.
“Besides, premise owners should understand that it’s not like they are going to easily get new tenants after evicting the previous ones, given our economic climate,” he said in a Facebook post.
During the Donald Trump administration, the US Government enacted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction moratorium to bar premise owners from evicting tenants during lockdown imposed due to COVID-19.
The US Government also allocated US$46.55 bil to finance the measure, albeit criticism on its slow delivery system.
However, in his last days in office, Trump added more restrictions to the measure, making it tougher for Americans to access the aid.
Touching on the matter, Najib lauded the Government’s move to allow special tax relief on premise owners to reduce rental by at least 30%, for the next six months, under the Pemerkasa+ stimulus package.
However, he opined that the scheme would only benefit premise owners, not its tenants.
“We should come up with schemes that will encourage premise owners to reduce rentals. It will be better if we can match it with loan moratorium,” the Pekan MP noted. – June 21, 2021
