THE Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) wants Putrajaya to state clearly if it will tell banks to extend a moratorium on loan repayment.

MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon asked that either Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin or Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz speak up to end the ambiguity over the matter.

BNM in March announced a six-month moratorium on loan repayments starting April 1 to help individuals and businesses affected by the Covid-10 pandemic. 

On June 28, Tengku Zafrul said the government was engaging with banks to extend the  moratorium, which ends in September.

However, on July 3, BNM assistant governor Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid said the central bank was not considering an extension.

Solomon today asked if BNM’s statement was the result of the finance minister’s talks with the banks. 

The fact that 800,000 people have lost their jobs in the first five months of the year should indicate to the government and banks why the moratorium must be extended for another six months. 

“MTUC has time and again reiterated the need for the moratorium to be extended for the sake of hundreds of thousands of workers who have been rendered unemployed or forced to take hefty pay cuts and remain in dire straits. 

“Their situation remains critical despite the gradual reopening of the economy as the Covid-19 pandemic is largely contained,” Solomon said in a statement today.

Solomon said that the government must at least consider extending the moratorium for the middle- and low-income groups.

“The current moratorium is a blanket one given to all borrowers, irrespective of their financial standing. At the very least, the government must extend the moratorium for targeted groups such as B40 and M40 workers as they are the ones most affected by the economic downturn. 

“They need an additional six-month respite as clearly the country needs at least that much time and well beyond to get the economy ticking again while waiting to go full throttle once the Covid-19 vaccine makes it to our shore.

“Extending it by another six months will provide temporary financial relief, which they desperately need to help lessen their despair,” he said. 

Early this month, MTUC called on Putrajaya to compel banks to extend the moratorium by another six months on payment of monthly instalments for housing loans and vehicles. – July 16, 2020.