PUTRAJAYA: The MyEzCover scheme, which was introduced to help government staff pay their vehicle insurance in instalments, will be extended to those working in government-linked companies (GLCs), government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and the private sector soon.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the programme, which was announced last month, was part of the government's commitment to protect the wellbeing of its permanent and contract staff, in line with the Malaysian Family aspiration.
"MyEzCover is a financing package through which instalments can be made for up to 10 months with no interest charges.
"Malaysian Family has been facing the burden of rising cost of living because of geopolitical factors and climate change," he said in his speech at the Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) myezycover.com programme under the Human Resources Ministry.
He said while the country's economic recovery has shown good progress, the global food supply chain had been affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, hurting the people's income, including government staff.
Ismail Sabri said the situation had affected particularly those working in support services who have been the backbone of public administration.
Through myezcover.com, vehicle owners could apply for vehicle insurance renewal online and insurance cover note would be issued within five minutes, he said.
Earlier, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan in his speech said some government staff had resorted to taking personal loans and even sought Ah Long in order to pay for their car insurance.
"Some RM200 million in cash outflow used to repay loans annually were found involving civil servants.
"MyEzCover aims to ease their burden, especially those in the B40 group, as they can pay for their car insurance in instalments," he said.
When met later, Saravanan said he would discuss the details with the relevant agencies, including the implementation, once the scheme is expanded beyond the civil service staff.
"We will probably start with GLCs such as PNB (Permodalan Nasional Bhd) and TM (Telekom Malaysia Bhd). Hopefully, we can start with offering the scheme to them by the end of this year," he told reporters.
Due to the costs, he said, many people skimped on car insurance and opted for a basic policy that did not cover windshield and flood damage, among others.
MyEzCover, he said, would enable car owners to better protect their vehicles through monthly instalment payments and entitle them to enjoy a 10 per cent discount if they made full repayment through salary deduction via the National Cooperative Movement of Malaysia Bhd (Angkasa).
The syariah-compliant scheme, set to benefit some 1.7 million government staff, was implemented through a RM100 million allocation derived from the Social Security Organisation (PERKESO), MyAngkasa Amanah Bhd and A Tech Insure Sdn Bhd (ATECH).
It was reported that it would also be offered to government retirees and private sector employees who could opt for monthly instalments or repayments in every three or four months.