By Charles Santiago
LET us analyse Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s massive RM150 bil People’s Protection and Economic Recovery Package) or Pemulih stimulus package:
- Direct fiscal injection of RM10 bil, less than 7% of the total amount of the stimulus package, is insufficient to help businesses and Malaysians who suffered tremendous losses.
- The one-off cash assistance for vulnerable groups such as B40 families is inadequate, and untimely for retrenched workers who have zero income.
- The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) i-Citra scheme wipes out retirement savings as people are withdrawing from their old -age savings to help themselves now.
- The price-control initiative should cover basic food items such as fish, chicken, meat, eggs and vegetables until the lockdown is fully lifted, to ensure people and especially children can eat nutritious food.
- The Government should overhaul the Wage Subsidy Programme to a more targetted approach, providing 80% reimbursement for SMEs in the hardest-hit sectors by tiers, capped at RM4,000 per worker.
- Loan moratorium is not automatic for micro-businesses but still subject to bank’s approval with interest, raising questions as to how many would actually qualify.
- There is no mention of rent support, which is essential to sustaining SMEs and preventing a domino effect on the economy.
- Essentially, the Government has only changed the name of the stimulus package, with no political will to help SMEs and community-based businesses towards a sustainable recovery.
In conclusion, the Pemulih recovery scheme can be likened to applying plaster for a rectal colon cancer. – June 30, 2021.
Charles Santiago is the MP for Klang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
