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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s biggest budget, unveiled last week, came with big promises to ease public pain amid the Covid-19 nightmare, but criticism about its shortcomings has been swift and furious.
While politicians criticized a proposed large outlay to revive a government propaganda unit and push for blanket bank loan moratoriums, the public sees large amounts of aid on its way, but also the lack of a comprehensive safety net for the most. vulnerable.
The 2021 budget of RM322.5 billion (Singapore $ 105.4 billion) for 2021 is 2.5% more than this year’s spending despite several stimulus packages already in place this year by the Muhyiddin Yassin administration.
Malaysians affected by the coronavirus pandemic hope that some of next year’s budget promises will keep their finances above water.
Ms Hafizah Husni, 38, a cleaner and single mother of three, said that with her income cut due to fewer jobs available, she would no longer be able to pay for childcare when she goes out to work.
The government said it will spend RM20 million to establish child care centers for low-income families. Ms. Hafizah, who is in the bottom 40% of Malaysia’s income earners, or B40, hopes she can breathe a little easier.
“I am very concerned about the safety of my children; they have to take care of themselves at home. This would really put me at ease,” she told The Straits Times.
Revealing the budget last Friday (Nov 6), Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said that there are a number of measures targeting the B40 and the middle 40 percent of employees, or the M40 group.
The government needs to act fast. Almost 32,500 companies registered with the Malaysian Business Commission, most of which are micro-entrepreneurs, have already been closed since March, when the movement restrictions were first implemented.
Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul on Thursday (November 12) defended the budget, saying that the B40 group is entitled to an automatic three-month bank loan moratorium, or that they could reduce their monthly loan payments by 50 percent for six months. months.
The M40 group would be offered bank loan repayment assistance if their income is reduced.
Once again, with these groups in mind, the government will allocate RM3.7 billion to create 500,000 job opportunities through hiring incentives, retraining programs and wage subsidies.
The retraining and retraining programs are expected to benefit 200,000 Sabah and Johor graduates and workers who lost their jobs due to the closure of the border with Singapore.
With the boom in online sales, grants worth RM150 million will be awarded to help businesses connect.
“The virus outbreak made me realize how important it is for companies to have a strong online presence. I was almost forced to close mine because it relied heavily on sales through my physical store,” said the beauty product salesperson, Nadia Rusli, 36. Times of the Strait.
With more than 400,000 households below the poverty line, next year’s budget aims to increase aid to low-income families.
Households with a monthly income of less than RM2,500 will receive a one-time payment of between RM1,200 and RM1,800. Households with a monthly income of between 2501 and 4000 yuan will receive between 800 and 1200 ringgit.
Still, while many welcome these proposals, others say the government could do better, for example by creating food banks.
“I love the skills upgrade and renewal initiative they announced, it would help people like me a lot to get a job,” said carpet cleaner Michael Nadarajah. “But I think we also need more food banks so that when the time comes, we have a place to get immediate help from.”
The National Union for Teaching Professions (NUTP) on Thursday (November 12) urged the government to provide laptops to more students from low-income families.
Under next year’s budget proposal, government-linked companies would contribute RM150 million to provide laptops to 150,000 students in 500 schools as a pilot project.
“There are about five million students across the country … If only 150,000 of them out of 500 schools receive the laptops, the number is relatively small,” said NUTP Secretary General Harry Tan Huat Hock.
A United Nations study conducted between May and September, and released last month, revealed that 7% of Malaysia’s upper secondary-age children, or those aged 16 to 17, have not returned to school even after that the government reopened educational institutions in Malaysia. May.
Many Malaysians are still concerned about where their next meal will come from.
Grab Nasrul deliveryman Ibrahim Musa said that while he is happy with the cash help he is entitled to receive, he is more concerned about getting a stable job.
Like many others, he was laid off this year, pushing Malaysia’s unemployment rate to 4.6 percent in September. The unemployment rate hit a record 5.3 percent in May.
“Yes, getting cash is nice, but I’d rather have a steady job. I’ve been to countless interviews, but potential employers only offer part-time work,” the 26-year-old mechanical engineering graduate told The Straits Times. .
“At the same time, there are already too many delivery men. Where do people like me go?” I ask.
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