KUALA LUMPUR: The government will formulate additional measures in the near future to provide targeted assistance to vulnerable groups and increase support for businesses, especially those who are unable to operate and in the process of reopening post-movement control order (MCO).
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the government had introduced four economic stimulus packages worth RM305 billion and one assistance package worth RM15 billion.
"This does not take into account the largest budget in Malaysian history worth RM322.5 billion. All this is proof of the government's determination to ensure the welfare of the people and to restore our economy which has been impacted due to the pandemic," he said in the 43rd Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) report today.
On the update for the Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (Penjana), Tengku Zafrul said as of September 30 last year, total of 322,177 employers and 2.64 million employees had received the benefits of Wage Subsidy Program (PSU 1.0) under the Penjana initiative of "Empowering the People".
He said as for the hiring incentive and training assistance programme, a total of 130,871 employees had secured employment through this programme as of February 19.
On the reskilling and upskilling programme, as of February 19, the number of individuals participating in the programmes stood at 135,751 participants.
"The Ministry of Finance link lists the courses that are requested, while those who are interested can visit the websites of the respective Government agencies involved to obtain the relevant information. Those who are looking for a job, especially the youth, are invited to participate in these courses," he said.
On Penjana's objective of "Propelling Businesses", he said the Penjana SME Financing as of February 19 had approved 6,731SME applications with a financing value of RM1.259 billion out of the RM2 billion allocated.
The Penjana Tourism Financing, which had an allocation of RM1 billion for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the sector affected by Covid-19, received 579 applications, and of this total 282 applications had been approved with a total financing of RM57.1 million.
As for the Penjana Micro Credit Financing under Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), he said as of February 19, a total of RM363.4 million had been provided to 10,774 micro SMEs in the retail and services sectors.
On the Bumiputera Relief Financing (BRF), introduced by Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd (PUNB), he said as of February 19, this fund had been channelled to 572 SMEs involving a value of RM161.7 million.
As for Penjana's third objective of "Stimulating the Economy", Tengku Zafrul said on the sales tax exemption for passenger vehicles, as of February 19, the value of sales tax relief that had been used stood at RM232.96 million.
"The government has agreed to extend this tax incentive until June 30, 2021, as a measure to further boost the automotive sector and economic activities of the country," he said.