KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The government will ensure that all the assistance announced under the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) 2020 yesterday reaches the target group in a fast and transparent manner.
Senior Minister (Economic Cluster), Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the Finance Ministry through the Unit for the Implementation and Coordination of National Agencies on the Economic Stimulus Package (Laksana) would ensure smooth implementation of the stimulus package.
“We have a good database of the recipients of government assistance especially those from the B40 group, small traders and SMEs (small medium enterprises).
“We also want to ensure that we will have a complete database of people from the M40 group and the assistance reaches all the eligible recipients,” he said when appearing as a guest on RTM’s Bicara Naratif programme which was aired live on TV1 here today.
Mohamed Azmin who is also International Trade and Industry Minister said as for the corporate sector and SMEs, the Finance Ministry and Bank Negara Malaysia would provide a mechanism to facilitate them in making application.
On the Wage Subsidy Programme which was also announced yesterday he said the initiative would help employers manage their cash flow and prevent people from losing their jobs.
“The government wants to help employers retain their workers as many companies are not making a profit during the implementation of the Movement Control Order and we do not want these companies to use this as an excuse to retrench workers,” he said.
Under the Wage Subsidy Programme, RM600 a month will be given to private sector workers with a salary of less than RM4,000 and whose employers experienced a 50 per cent drop in income since Jan 1.
The initiative is expected to benefit some 3.3 million workers, with an allocation of RM5.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Azmin reiterated his call for the agriculture sector to start adopting new technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence in an effort to to boost national food productivity and reduce dependency on foreign workers.
Through the use of such technologies, the country would not only produce high-quality food products but also contribute to the reduction of national food imports, he added.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the RM250 billion people-centric economic stimulus package with the objective of protecting the people, supporting businesses and strengthening the economy to weather the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— NNN-BERNAMA
