PRIME Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced a new stimulus package worth RM15 bil to help boost the economy following the second movement control order (MCO 2.0) and the state of Emergency proclamation.
In a live speech that ran for 40-minutes, Muhyiddin said the stimulus, known as Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai), will be have 22 initiatives focused on three aspects, mainly:
- Combat COVID-19
- Protect the people’s welfare
- Support the business community
Under the first initiative, the Government will be providing an additional allocation of RM1 bil, of which RM800 mil is for the Health Ministry and the rest for the National Security Council (NSC) and other relevant agencies.
“This allocation is for supplies, including additional reagents and screening kits as well as Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), specifically for healthcare frontliners.
As for vaccination, Muhyiddin said that the Government has signed three agreements with producers, and the first batch is due to arrive end of next month.
He added that the Special Committee on Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Supply, the Government will ensure transparency in the procurement process and give the utmost priority to the National Immunisation Programme.
“RM3 bil has been allocated for this purpose. Realistically, the vaccination programme will be implemented in phases over a period of 12 months.
“The first batch is expected to be vaccinated by early March, and Malaysia is expected to meet its target of vaccinating more than 80% of its population, or close to 27 million people, by the first quarter of 2022,” Muhyiddin said.
Other initiatives under Permai include:
- One-off provision of RM500 to healthcare frontliners, and RM300 to other frontliners in the first quarter of this year
- Existing special monthly allowance of RM600 to healthcare frontliners and RM200 to other frontliners will continue until the pandemic ends.
- Expansion of tax relief to full health screening expenses, increased from RM500 to RM1,000 under Budget 2021, to cover COVID-19 screening.
On protecting and safeguarding people’s welfare, Muhyiddin said the Government will disburse the final payment of Bantuan Prihatin Nasional 2.0 beginning Jan 21 onwards, amounting to RM2.38 bil.
“As for Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR), households earning up to RM5,000 per month will receive RM300 each, while for those who are single, earning up to RM2,000 per month will receive RM150,” he said.
Among other initiatives under welfare programme include:
- Moratorium facility and loan repayment restructuring will be continued.
- Employees Provident Fund will provide an advance of up to RM1,000 from the amount applied under the i-Sinar scheme.
- Tax relief up to RM2,500 on purchases of mobile phones, computers and tablets extended until Dec 31 this year.
- Sales tax exemption for locally assembled and imported passenger vehicles until Dec 31
- Three-month PTPTN loan repayment moratorium.
On supporting business continuity, Muhyiddin said the Government would enhance the Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0, where for one month, eligible employers will receive a wage subsidy of RM600 for each employee earning less than RM4,000.
In addition, the wage subsidy limit of 200 employees for each employer will be increased to 500 employees.
Among other goodies to support the business community include:
- Rules will be relaxed for those who lost their jobs to apply for the Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS)
- RM24 mil allocation to fund the full contribution under Socso’s Self-Employment Social Security Scheme for delivery riders
- Prihatin Special Grant Plus assistance to 500,000 SMEs in the seven MCO states with a payment of RM1,000 each, with 300,000 SMEs in other states to receive RM500 each.
- One-off RM500 financial assistance for taxi drivers, bus drivers, rental car drivers and e-hailing drivers
- Discount of 10% on electricity bills from January to March 2021 for six business sectors; hotel operators, theme parks, convention centres, shopping malls, local airline offices as well as travel and tour agencies.
- Electricity rebates for domestic and non-domestic users at a rate of 2 sen per kilowatt-hour, from Jan 1 to June 30.
In his closing remark, Muhyiddin said that he was confident that the nation will prevail over the unprecedented times by cooperating with one another.
“I believe the resourcefulness, tenacity and resilience inherent in our Malaysian spirit will help us prevail against this great adversity, God willing,” the Pagoh MP added. – Jan 18, 2021.
