KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Economic and Rakyat’s Protection Assistance Package (Permai) is a much-needed relief and support for Malaysians in the face of the prevailing health and economic crises, says Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).

Its president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman applauded the government’s timely interventions for combating Covid-19, safeguarding the people’s welfare and supporting business continuity and sustainability.

“MEF supports the enhanced Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0 under Socso that enables all employers operating in movement control order (MCO) states to apply.

“The one-month wage subsidy of RM600 for employees earning below RM4,000 would provide great relief to the eligible employers,” he said in a statement today.

Having said that, he also suggested for the government to consider extending the wage subsidy scheme to similarly crises-impacted employers in non-MCO states.

On the expanded Prihatin Special Grant Plus assistance, he encouraged micro-enterprises and small and medium enterprises (SME) to access the micro credit facilities including soft loans amounting to RM1 billion, and leverage the e-Commerce platforms and campaigns such as Shop Malaysia Online.

“MEF is appreciative and thankful to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the government for the Permai package and hopes the government would continue to provide necessary support to employers and employees during this very challenging period,” he said.

Yesterday, Muhyiddin unveiled Permai, a RM15 billion aid package to ease the people’s burden and ensure economic resilience at a time when the country is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The aid package contains 22 initiatives to combat the pandemic, safeguard the welfare of the people and support business continuity. – Bernama