[JUST IN] Prime Minister Announces RM40 Billion PEMERKASA Plus Plan
This comes as Malaysia enters a 2-week lockdown due to Covid-19.
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Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today announced the PEMERKASA Plus plan which will involve a total of RM40 billion in funds and has 3 goals:
- Enhancing the capacity of Public Health;
- Continuing the Prihatin Rakyat Agenda; and
- Supporting Business Continuity
Under the PEMERKASA Plus, an additional RM2.1 billion will be spent on the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) program.
Households with income under RM2,500, will receive RM500.
Households with income between RM2,501 to RM5,000, will receive RM300.
Bachelors will receive RM100.
Payment will be made starting at the end of June. This is in addition to the last phase of the BPR which will end in September.
He added that those in the B40 category and those who have lost their jobs, including micro-enterprises, and SMEs that are not allowed to operate during MCO, will be given the choice between receiving an automatic moratorium for three months or a reduction in paying back their loans by 50% for 6 months.
Eligible taxi and bus drivers can get a moratorium on their loans up to 12 months and extend their loans by 36 months.
MARA will continue the MARA PRIHATIN Peace of Mind program until 31 July 2021.
Borrowers can apply online for rescheduling of student loan repayments or a moratorium.
MARA entrepreneurs affected by the economic closure will be given a 30% discount on the rental of business premises for the months of May to July 2021.
The Wage Subsidy Program under SOCSO will be extended for 1 month for all affected economic sectors with a limit of 500 employees per application.
It is expected that 2.5 million employees and over 200,000 employers will benefit.
Employers registered with Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad will be granted a levy payment exemption for one month in June 2021.
Employees can also improve their knowledge and skills through the free e-LATiH learning portal with over 400 modules and skills courses.
The Prihatin Special Grant (GKP) rate will be increased by RM500 to RM1,500.
Almost 1 million SMEs and micro-enterprises will receive RM1,000 in mid-June and another RM500 will be given in July.
For small traders, street hawkers, and including micro-enterprises, micro-credit financing as working capital is provided throughout the year by BSN, TEKUN, MARA, SME Corp, and YAPEIM with financing rates as low as 3%.
As much as RM7 billion in total loan funds for SMEs with rates as low as 3.5% are still available.
The government also agrees to provide Special Assistance on a one-off basis of RM500 to 17,000 tourist guides, 40,000 taxi drivers, 11,000 school bus drivers, 4,000 sightseeing bus drivers, and 62,000 rental car drivers and e-hailing drivers. This amount will be channeled to registered recipients in July.
For the health sector, the government will allocate RM450 million to increase bed capacity and ICU equipment for Covid-19 treatment.
This is for all hospitals supervised by the Health Ministry including Public University Teaching Hospitals such as UiTM, UPM, and UKM as well as ATM field hospitals.
Additionally, outsourcing will also be implemented in private hospitals. This number includes RM200 million announced by the Finance Minister on 22 May.
RM550 million is allocated to cover expenditure needs related to Covid-19 by various agencies including increased operating costs and management in dealing with the Covid health crises. This includes drugs, reagents for screening, and the appointment of officers on a contract basis.
The allocation also covers operating costs for Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centers or PKRC at MAEPS and at the state level.
The service period of over 14,000 existing medical officers and nurses under contract is extended until 2022.
In addition, the government will also re-appoint more than 500 health workers facing compulsory retirement this year on a contract basis.
The Prime Minister says that by the end of June, we will be able to reach the target of 150,000 vaccination doses a day and welcomes the cooperation of the private sector, NGOs, and civil society organizations to intensify this effort.
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