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PUTRAJAYA: The government expects the country to lose RM600 million a day due to the latest Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0), compared to RM2.4 billion a day in March to May 2020, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
“This MCO is different from the one in March last year, as five essential sectors are still open; small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as stalls and shops, can still open,” he told a news conference on protection economy and Rakyat from Malaysia. Assistance package (PERMAI) here, Tuesday.
The five essential sectors are manufacturing, construction, services, commerce and distribution, as well as plantations and commodities.
“Although these sectors continue to operate, we cannot leave things to chance. The duration of the MCO depends on the control of the transmission of the COVID-19 case,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said that PERMAI is an enhancement of the initiatives announced in the 2021 Budget, as well as the ongoing initiatives in the Rakyat Prihatin Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) and the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA).
He said that PERMAI was also specifically designed for companies that couldn’t carry on as usual.
“For now we maintain our growth projection of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is also one of the reasons for the implementation of PERMAI,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia’s GDP contracted 2.7 percent in the third quarter of 2020, which was among the best in ASEAN compared to Singapore (-7 percent), Indonesia (-3.5 percent). percent), Philippines (-11.5 percent). ) and the United States (-2.9%).
According to him, although the government has allocated 15 billion ringgit with an additional tax injection of 6.6 billion ringgit through PERMAI, its fiscal deficit projection has not changed from 5.4% so far.
“People should understand that the government has done everything possible and deliberates regularly with the Ministry of Health on the economic aspect to ensure that the efforts are balanced,” he said. – Bernama
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