As the nation starts a new round of full Movement Control Order (MCO) for the third time, the government has announced new aid packages for those affected by the lockdown.
The nationwide MCO begins on June 1, 2021, and the first phase will last for 14 days.
Among the RM40 billion Pemerkasa Plus aid package for affected individuals and SMEs are:
- Automatic three-month extension of loan moratorium or reduce monthly instalment repayments by 50% for up to six months for affected workers, micro and small businesses
- Additional RM2.1 billion for financial aid under Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR)
RM500 for household incomes under RM2,500 p.m.
RM300 for household incomes between RM2,501 and RM5,000 p.m.
RM100 for singles earning less than RM2,500 p.m. - 12-month loan moratorium for eligible bus and taxi operators and extension of loan period until 36 months
- 1-month wage subsidies totaling RM1.5 billion to be disbursed by the Social Security Organisation
- 30% discount on premise rental for affected entrepreneurs under Mara Prihatin programme
- One time aid for drivers of taxis, rental cars, school buses, tourist buses and e-hailing amounting to RM68 million
- Additional 10% electricity discount for three months from July to September for six affected sectors
- Stamp duty exemption for the Home Ownership Campaign extended until end of 2021
- Sales tax exemption for CKD passenger vehicles and CBU imports under Penjana initiative extended until end of 2021
- Levy payments exemption for one month in June 2021
- Additional Prihatin grant from RM1,000 to RM1,500 (RM1,000 in June and RM500 in July)
- RM1.5 billion for credit micro financing with rates from 3%
For the full list of Pemerkasa Plus initiatives, you can refer to the Finance Ministry posting here.
In May, the government also launched the Jaringan Prihatin programme to help lower income households and individuals gain access to telecommunication services or mobile phones. The E-Belia programme was also launched to help youths and students at institutions of higher learning obtain credit of RM150 from e-cash service providers.
