THE Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has allocated another RM10 billion under the Kita Prihatin package to help the people weather challenges as the economy recovers from the effects of Covid-19.

In announcing the package today, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the incentives will benefit families and individuals from the B40 and M40 groups as well as employees and micro-level entrepreneurs from various sectors.

“Although the labour market has shown signs of recovery, the government understands the challenges faced by employers and employees in this recovery period,” he said in a special televised address today.

Of the additional RM10 billion sum, RM2.4 billion will go to the Wage Subsidy 2.0 programme, which is set to benefit 1.3 million workers.

The subsidy is aimed at alleviating the burden of employers who are still facing struggles with cash flow despite the resumption of economic activities under the recovery movement-control order (RMCO).

Employers eligible for this subsidy are those whose earnings have plummeted by at least 30% compared to last year. They will be given a RM600 wage subsidy per worker for a period of three months, covering up to 200 workers. It will be available for applications during the period of October 1 to December 31.

“The Wage Subsidy 2.0 will be open to companies that are registered with Socso as of August 31, 2020,” Muhyiddin said.

The government will also be allocating an additional RM600 million under the Special Prihatin Grant to alleviate the cash flow burdens of micro-SMEs.

Applications will be open throughout the month of October and the grant is expected to be disbursed from November 25 onwards.

Micro-SMEs must be registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and local authorities as of August 31 in order to qualify for the scheme.

An additional RM7 billion has also been allocated for the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) 2.0 cash aid programme to benefit B40 households and single individuals, as well as M40 households. – September 23, 2020.