MALAYSIA’s social protection system has been inadequate and ineffective during the Covid-19 pandemic, and yet the 12th Malaysia Plan is failing to address it, DAP lawmaker Charles Santiago said.

“There has been a shocking number of deaths, job losses, suicides and poverty, and the victims of the pandemic are the B40 and lower M40 communities plus micro businesses, whose financial status is significantly worse off compared to 2019.

“But have we addressed these crucial issues in the 12th Malaysia Plan? Definitely not, but it certainly reveals a remarkable story of tone-deaf politicians who still believe they can gloss over facts with cute words and get away with it,” the Klang MP said in a statement.

Santiago said the five-year plan for Malaysia’s economic direction has to re-think social protection and make it a key policy.

Investing in social protection can create domestic demand and generate large positive multiplier effects on the economy, he said.

He urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to register and establish an insurance scheme for informal workers, revamp the Bantuan Sara Hidup, introduce a job guarantee scheme and review minimum wages.

“The government needs to amend the law and establish an Employment Insurance Scheme for informal workers as a way of providing them with income security. Provide an urgent RM1,000 monthly cash transfer to the absolute and hardcore poor households, including groups who have lost their jobs during the pandemic under the BSH programme.”

“Unemployment can be reduced if there is a job guarantee scheme, where it provides funds to employers, professional groups, NGOs and trade unions to hire unemployed persons. Recipients of the fund must undergo skills training. In this way, the government ensures the people can find their way back into the labour market.”

“The government should review and implement a new minimum wage system supported by a separate fund to help reduce the burden of SMEs, which are hit by the pandemic. It should allocate an annual fund of RM15 billion during the transition period towards the effort,” Santiago said.

If Malaysia fails to improve its social protection system, it will be difficult to address poverty and inequality, he added.

The 12MP, among others, targets high-income nation status for Malaysia at an average household income of RM10,000. But this goal has been criticised by some economists, who said targeting an average figure would be meaningless as it did not mean the B40 group would actually benefit. – October 4, 2021.