PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will announce the government’s economic stimulus package by early March, said Lim Guan Eng.

The finance minister said Putrajaya is still engaging stakeholders to determine what to provide in the package.

“We will get input from everyone, but the announcement will not be made by me. It will be made either at the end of this month or early next month.

“We had a meeting (with stakeholders) yesterday for three hours, and we will further hold a series of meetings.

“This is a stimulus package, so we have to be ready,” he said after launching the MySalam scheme in Putrajaya today.

Lim previously said Malaysia did not face any risk of a recession despite the government’s plan to expedite the introduction of its planned stimulus package, aimed at ensuring sustainable economic growth in the face of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

He had also said his ministry would get the Health Ministry’s input on the estimated duration of the outbreak and its effect on the country.

“This (stimulus package) cannot be done in a hurry. We need to look at the impact to ensure that those affected get the help they need, and to do that, we need to get input from various parties.

“Many economic analysts are saying the outbreak will not last a long time, which is why we need to ensure that the package assists those who need it to remain sustainable.”

Economists have estimated that an allocation of between RM10 billion and RM15 billion is needed to address the outbreak’s impact on Malaysia’s economy, with a focus on the tourism, manufacturing, health and education sectors. – February 11, 2020.