KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong) has proposed the government to expand the Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0 (WSP 3.0) beyond the Movement Control Order (MCO) areas, including those which are currently under conditional MCO (CMCO) and recovery MCO (RMCO), so as to allow employers affected by the Covid-19 to apply for the said aid.
Its President, Tan Sri T.C Goh noted that the WSP 3.0 which was announced in the Malaysian Economic and Rakyat’s Protection Scheme (Permai) assistance package on Monday, only applies to employers operating under the MCO, regardless of sectors. Eligible employers would receive a wage subsidy of RM600 for each of their employees earning less than RM4,000 for a period of one month.
Besides that, the limit of 200 employees for each application will be increased to 500 employees.
Goh said, while such is a commendable move, the government nonetheless should not neglect those employers operating in CMCO and RMCO areas who too were currently struggling to stay afloat.
He cited for example, like their counterparts in MCO area, businesses in CMCO and RMCO regions like big banquet halls, food and beverages outlets, entertainment outlets, tourism, hotels, tour bus, school bus, public transportation etc, too were facing cash-flow problem and are desperately in need of government assistance in the form of wage subsidy to stay afloat.
He also opined that the provision of one month wage subsidy under WSP 3.0 is not enough, and should be extended to three months, in order to be really effective in easing the financial burden of those affected businesses.
He said, just like the extension of the bank loan moratorium, the government should similarly adopt a more targeted approach in implementing WSP 3.0 to cover all affected businesses, instead of basing on MCO classifications.
“This is in view of the fact that, even in the MCO region, there are businesses which not only not affected but are thriving; likewise, there are businesses operating outside the MCO region which have been badly affected and are urgently in need of help,” he explained.
He further cited that, like the provision of RM1,000 under Prihatin Special Grant (GKP Tambahan) to 500,000 SMEs in seven states under the MCO, and RM500 to 300,000 SMEs in other states, the government too could apply the same approach for WSP 3.0 to better reach and assist those affected employers.
Goh who is also the President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) proposed this while commenting on the Permai assistance package worth RM15bil.
He said, in general, Huazong welcomes and supports the latest and the 5th economic stimulus package since the emergence of Covid-19 outbreak in the country, early last year. While noting that some of the measures were in line with Huazong’s views and proposals earlier, he nonetheless hoped that the government could better improve some of them, so as to better assist those who are badly affected, businesses included.
He also welcomed the government’s move to provide electricity rebates to all TNB users, domestic and non-domestic, at a rate of two sen per kilowatt-hour, equivalent to a reduction of up to 9% for a period of six months from Jan 1 to June 30, 2021, and a special 10% discount on electricity bills for business in hotels, theme parks, convention centres, shopping malls, local airline offices and travel and tour agencies.
He however hoped that such rebates could be expanded to also cover community-based organizations, media organizations, and non-profit charitable or welfare organizations like old folks homes, childcare centers, education organizations etc, to help ease their financial burden amidst the pandemic.
He also commended the government for allocating RM3 billion to boost SMEs, micro enterprises, and e-commerce like Shop Malaysia Online. He hoped the government could incorporate the Buy Malaysian Products campaign into the programme to boost domestic consumption.
He also welcomed exemption of the Human Resources Development Fund contributions by affected businesses; acceleration of micro credit for SMEs and targeted loan moratorium, loan restructuring, and lowering of interest rates for loan repayment which, to assist the people and businesses to better cope with the current trying situation.
Meanwhile, Huazong also proposed a 5-point proposal for the government’s consideration, as follows:
1. Proposing the government to extend the duration of the Employment Insurance System Programme (SIP Prihatin) for those who lost their jobs during MCO, from the existing three months to six months. Under this scheme, employees who do not meet the minimum contribution conditions, or whose contract was not extended after having been renewed for at least three times previously, are now eligible to apply for SIP Prihatin assistance of 30 per cent of their monthly salary for a period of three months.
2. Proposing the government to reintroduce special incentive or discount to encourage PTPTN borrowers who are financially stable and capable to come forward to settle their loan, like the 20% discount for one-off full settlement, and 10% discount for half settlement or payment through monthly salary deduction which was introduced in 2018. This is in order to expedite the recovery of PTPTN loans.
3. To expand the special internet data plan for SPM and STPM students to also cover students of higher learning institutions and students in Chinese independent schools and community run non-profit colleges, until the end of April.
4. To ensure that under the RM100 million collaboration with private hospitals, the fee to be charged by private hospitals for treatment of Covid-19 and non Covid-19 patients is within affordable range.
5. To accelerate the national vaccination programme and to also extend it to cover the foreign workers.-pr/BNN
