KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled a new economic stimulus package worth RM40 billion (US$9.7 billion) on Monday (May 31), in an attempt to mitigate the impacts of an impending total lockdown.
Speaking during a televised national address, Mr Muhyiddin said the package – named Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (Pemerkasa) Plus – will aim to increase the capacity of public hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients, to support continuity of businesses and to help the people.
This is mainly to ensure the well-being and survival of the vulnerable, as well as ensure workers who depend on daily wages can continue to be assisted. They are expected to be among the most affected following the enforcement of the lockdown.
However, he acknowledged that the government has limited finances to spare at the present moment.
"I would like to be frank, the government has limited fiscal power to spend at this time. However for the sake of the people's welfare, the government will strive to find a balance between lives and livelihood ... to enable people to survive for the duration of this MCO (movement control order)," said Mr Muhyiddin.
In his speech, Mr Muhyiddin added that ministers and deputy ministers will not be drawing salaries from June to September this year.
Prior to Monday's announcement, Putrajaya had rolled out six stimulus packages worth a total of RM340 billion.
READ: Malaysia to enter 'total lockdown' from Jun 1 to Jun 14 as daily number of COVID-19 cases hits new record
READ: Measures in place to ensure no food supply chain disruption during total lockdown, says Malaysian minister
Malaysia is grappling to curb the recent rise in COVID-19 cases. The country enters a two-week lockdown from Tuesday, during which malls will be shut while only 17 essential service sectors will be allowed to operate. These sectors include healthcare, telecommunications and media, food and beverage, utilities as well as banking.
On Saturday, Malaysia reported 9,020 new COVID-19 cases, its highest daily toll since the start of the pandemic. It was the fifth straight day of record new infections.
On Monday, there were 6,425 new cases. There are now more than 570,000 cases nationwide. A total of 2,796 people have died from COVID-19 in Malaysia.
In a May 23 interview, Mr Muhyiddin said that while a full lockdown would guarantee people’s safety, there is a risk that the economy could collapse.
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy9hc2lhL21hbGF5c2lhLWNvdmlkMTktdG90YWwtbG9ja2Rvd24tcHJpaGF0aW4tbXVoeWlkZGluLXlhc3Npbi0xNDkyMDQyNtIBAA?oc=5
2021-05-31 13:33:27Z
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