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PETALING JAYA: Former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has launched three initiatives to keep the number of unemployed Malaysians below one million, which would be the highest in the nation’s history.
He asked the government to change its tactics so that people go back to work and boost the economy.
“To save and lift the economy out of our current economic downturn, the government’s financial focus should shift from controlling our debt levels and fiscal deficits to borrowing more money,” Lim said in a statement today.
The DAP secretary general said the first measure is the “immediate implementation” of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s proposal to raise monthly social assistance from RM200-RM300 to RM1,000.
“This would give many a fiscal safety net and cost the government RM12 billion,” Lim said.
He also urged the government to extend the loan moratorium for another six months after it expires on September 30, saying this would cost RM6.4 billion, but in the process, it would help eight million Malaysians.
Finally, Lim called for incentives to hire and work under the [email protected] plan amounting to RM 500 per month for employees and RM 300 for employers to encourage recruitment of Malaysian workers.
“By expanding this plan to cover 600,000 workers and their employers, it will cost the government 13 billion ringgit.”
He added that while the final bill could be high, that step was necessary.
“Borrowing RM31.4 billion to help one million unemployed Malaysians can be costly but necessary to save jobs, businesses and livelihoods in Malaysia,” Lim said.
Human Resources Minister M Saravanan previously stated that the number of job seekers in the country could rise to one million earlier this month, with 350,000 new graduates entering the workforce and 200,000 locals returning from abroad.
