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PETALING JAYA: The government has introduced several new initiatives worth RM10bil to help people cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Kita Prihatin package is an additional boost to previous government initiatives such as the RM35bil Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (Penjana) announced in June and the RM260bil Prihatin package in March.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (Photo) said that while the figures showed an economic recovery, new initiatives were needed as many still faced difficulties.
He said the Salary Subsidy Program 2.0 was aimed at companies that experienced a drop in revenue of up to 30% compared to last year since the recovery movement control order (MCO).
A salary subsidy of RM 600 per month will be awarded to a maximum of 200 employees each for three months, and applications will be open from October 1 to December 31 of this year.
The prime minister said he received comments that many companies were not eligible for the scheme because they had not registered with the Social Security Organization (Socso) before April 1.
He said that to make sure they were not left behind, the second scheme would be open to companies that registered with Socso before August 31.
“For new applications that did not receive assistance under the Salary Subsidy Scheme program, they will be eligible for subsidies for up to six months,” he said yesterday in a special speech to announce the initiatives.
He said that the implementation of the program was expected to benefit 1.3 million workers with an allocation of RM2.4bil.
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Muhyiddin also announced a special Prihatin Grant (GKP) to help micro-businesses facing financial difficulties due to the pandemic.
He said it would be open to business owners registered with the Malaysian Business Commission or with local authorities before August 31, and payments will be made from November 25.
“The reopening of this initiative is expected to benefit more than 200,000 micro-businesses, with an allocation of almost RM600,000,” he said.
Another RM7bil in cash aid under Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) 2.0 would be channeled to 10.6 million recipients, Muhyiddin said.
He said that RM1,000 would be given to 3.7 million families in the B40 category, RM500 to 3.8 million singles in the B40 group, RM600 to 1.4 million M40 families and RM300 to 1.7 million singles in the M40 group.
Payments will be made in two batches: at the end of October of this year and in January of next year.
“There will be no need to request BPN 2.0. The government will channel aid directly
to the 10.6 million beneficiaries who were previously approved.
“For those who are eligible but never received BPN, the government will give them the opportunity to appeal and submit new applications.
“I hope that with this extra help, you can breathe a sigh of relief by covering the daily expenses for you and your family,” he said.
Muhyiddin also called on the public to reject the actions of various politicians who he claimed wanted to undermine political stability and the nation’s ongoing economic recovery plan.
He said the country needed a stable and strong government with the support of the public.
“This is important so that the government can implement more initiatives to restore the economy and help the people,” he said.
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