KUCHING: The RM15 billion Malaysian Economic and Rakyat’s Protection Assistance Package (Permai) announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday shows that Malaysia has a government that cares and has the welfare of the people at its heart, said Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
“Despite the fact that it is a deficit budget, when it comes to the welfare of the people, there is no compromise,” the Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister told New Sarawak Tribune today.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Islamic Affairs and DBKU) Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi said the Permai package would definitely be a great relief to the community, especially those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and floods.
“With the movement control order (MCO) 2.0 enforced, certainly many layers of society are affected, especially traders and those in the low-income group,” he said.
He said the introduction of the Permai package would also lift the spirits of the community, most of whom felt pressure due to difficulties in carrying out daily activities.
Besides this, he said the RM3 billion allocation for the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme would help to alleviate the anxiety of the people.
“This significant allocation to combat Covid-19 shows that the government is taking the spread of Covid-19 in Malaysia seriously,” he said.
Abdul Rahman noted that under the package, the government will allocate RM1,000 to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the seven MCO states as well as RM500 for SMEs in other states.
“This proves that the government has not forgotten SME entrepreneurs with this special allocation to assist them in their businesses,” he said.
He pointed out that since the MCO was introduced, many SMEs had been affected and some even had to shut down their businesses. Thus, he said this assistance, to some extent, would help these businesses to stay afloat.
He also said the moratorium extension would be able to help those affected to rearrange their financial matters.
“In addition, the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) 2.0 for 11.1 million recipients will be distributed starting Jan 21, involving an allocation of RM2.38 billion.
“This shows that the government is always concerned about the welfare of the people as well as helping parents prepare for their children’s schooling,” said Abdul Rahman.
