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KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 512,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have applied for the second round of aid from Prihatin, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said today.
Under the Prihatin 2.0 special grant, a one-time payment of RM3,000 is awarded to micro SMEs to help get their businesses up and running amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Requests for assistance, open from October 1 to October 31, will be examined and verified with the respective local authorities, he said.
“Those with more than five staff members will not have their applications approved because they do not meet the criteria,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat in response to a question from Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka), who wanted to know the number of applications. , the approval criteria and the reasons for unapproved requests.
Tengku Zafrul said applications without certification from the Malaysian Business Commission or approval from local authorities would also not be considered.
He said applicants can check their approval status starting Nov. 27, and the aid will be paid out starting Nov. 30.
He also said that 545,000 micro SMEs had benefited from Prihatin’s first special grant, worth RM1.63 billion.
