Malaysia unveils new COVID-19 economic stimulus package

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian government has unveiled another economic stimulus package worth 10 billion RM (2.4 billion USD) to bolster the country's economy and weather the impact of COVID-19.

In a special televised address on September 23, 2020, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the government is rolling out the Kita Prihatin Programme which is a special initiative aimed at helping micro entrepreneurs, the country's workforce and those from the B40 as well as the M40 income group.

Under the Kita Prihatin Programme, Muhyiddin said the government has set aside 600 million RM for the Special Prihatin Grant that is expected to benefit 200,000 micro entrepreneurs, according to the New Strait Times.

Those eligible for the grant must be registered micro entrepreneurs as well as those holding license with the Companies Commission of Malaysia or local authorities before August 31.

Muhyiddin said the government has also decided to extend the wage subsidy programme that was first introduced under the Prihatin Rakyat economic stimulus package.

For the Kita Prihatin Programme, Muhyiddin said the government has allocated 2.4 billion RM to carry out the Wage Subsidy Programme 2.0 that is expected to benefit 1.3 million workers from October until the end of the year.

The subsidy will be given to affected employers who had suffered at least a 30 percent loss since the Recovery Movement Control Order period, compared to last year.

The wage subsidy is granted up to three months at a rate of 600 RM per month for each employee at a maximum of 200 people.

Applications will be open from October 1 to December 31, 2020, he said.

This programme will also be open to companies that have registered with the Social Security Organisation (Socso) as of August 31 this year.

New applications that have never received the subsidy would also be eligible for this programme, and would receive the subsidy for up to six months./.