THE government has passed a law which will enable it to tap into the National Trust Fund (KWAN), which is the country’s natural resources wealth fund, for expenditure related to the procurement of Covid-19 vaccine.

According to the 2019 Auditor-General Report, there was RM16.03 billion in the fund as at December 31, 2019.

This is enabled through the promulgation of the Emergency (National Trust Fund) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on April 14.

The newly added Section 6(c) reads that the money from the fund can now be used for “the procurement of vaccines and any expenditure incurred in relation to the vaccines for an epidemic of any infectious disease as specified under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988 (Act 342).”

Kwan, which is governed by the National Trust Fund Act 1988, is managed by Bank Negara Malaysia.

It was established in 1988 to conserve the nation’s wealth from petroleum and other natural resources for future generations, which includes contributions from Petronas.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, while tabling Budget 2021 last November, said the government plans to add a further RM20 billion to a Covid-19 fund to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

This will increase the size of the fund to RM65 billion, which will be used to fund aid packages, the needs of front-line workers, and the procurement of vaccines, he had said.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had also announced in March this year that the allocation for the Covid-19 immunisation programme would be increased from RM3 billion to RM5 billion to reach herd immunity status by December, instead of the first quarter of 2022.

Malaysia had just started the second phase of the immunisation programme with the aim to inoculate 9.4 million senior citizens aged 60 and above, as well as vulnerable groups with morbidity problems and people with disabilities.

The government has announced six economic aid packages totalling RM340 billion to help revive the economy since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The latest was launched in March, called Pemerkasa, worth RM20 billion.

Others were Prihatin worth RM250 billion, Prihatin SMEs (RM10 billion), Penjana (RM35 billion), Kita Prihatin (RM10 billion) and Permai (RM15 billion). – April 21, 2021.