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KUALA LUMPUR: The government is leveraging more data collected by various ministries to reduce its assistance to individuals and businesses still recovering from the year-long health pandemic, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Aziz.
“We are conducting discussions at the relevant ministry and finance levels on how we can help, especially in the sectors that are still affected by this epidemic,” he said.
The discussions and data collected would be used to develop a new range of measures.
“This will be announced in the short term,” he told the media during a presentation highlighting the successes and achievements of the Ministry of Finance (MH) over the last year.
Last year, the government implemented a wide range of economic stimulus measures totaling RM305 billion. In January, it unveiled PERMAI, its fifth economic stimulus package worth RM15 billion distributed across 22 initiatives aimed at combating the COVID-19 outbreak.
Apart from these, the government allocated RM322.5 billion in the 2021 Budget, the largest budget in Malaysia’s history.
However, some companies and individuals, especially those involved in the tourism sector, remain very small as the borders have not yet been opened.
Tengku Zafrul said that companies in the tourism sector are among those that still need help, as they are still unable to resume operations.
In addition, he said that the assistance aims to help support the recovery process of companies in the sector, which also comes with an exit strategy (from the pandemic) that involves the vaccination program.
Immunization is key to economic recovery, he emphasized.
To help the nation cope with the pandemic, Perikatan Nasional, which celebrated its first anniversary on February 28, has developed the 6R recovery plan that comprises six stages: resolution, resilience, restart, recovery, revitalization and reform.
Under the goal of its second National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) of boosting local businesses, it has allocated an allocation of RM1 billion to help the tourism industry.
However, according to the weekly report of the Unit for the Coordination and Implementation of Economic Stimuli between National Agencies (LAKSANA) published weekly by the ministry, acceptance seems tepid.
As of February 19, LAKSANA’s 43rd report indicated that there were 579 requests for this funding, of which 282 had been approved with a total funding of 57.1 million ringgit.
Commenting on this, Tengku Zafrul said that the slow acceptance of the assistance was due to companies closing their businesses or downsizing their operations, therefore they see no point in requesting the allocation of RM1 billion.
“As business people, they told us that they needed some plan in the future when we opened the industry, but we cannot have that plan yet as it is subject to the number of COVID-19 cases.
“So if companies running a hotel business don’t want to borrow just yet because they are unsure of their income as they can’t restart operations, maybe the tourism sector needs some other help. And InsyaAllah, we will also announce something to support this industry, ”he said.
Furthermore, through his 43rd weekly LAKSANA update, the minister said that the government will formulate additional measures in the near future to provide specific assistance to vulnerable groups.
He said the additional measures are aimed at helping the poor, as well as those who lost their income; and increase support for businesses, especially businesses that are not yet able to operate; and companies that are in the process of reopening post-movement control orders.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in February, said the government will announce an additional strategy in mid-March to help revive the economy and mitigate the adverse economic impact of COVID-19.
“InsyaAllah, next month (March) I will announce a comprehensive strategy, I just discussed this with the Finance Minister. I will announce what the real strategy is, so that we can get out of the current problem faster and our economy will become more vibrant.
“Wait, I’ll announce it, maybe mid-March,” he had said. – Bernama
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