THE government must establish a trust fund to help vulnerable workers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns, said the National Union of Bank Employees secretary-general.

J. Solomon said such a fund, to be endowed with contributions from large profit-makers, would provide urgently needed financial aid to the people who have had their pay cut or lost their jobs.

The money would go to B40 and M40 groups, people without fixed income, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), he said in a statement today.

He added the fund must be independently run and free of political control

“The national trust fund will be the lifeline for an inclusive recovery of the people and the nation.

“We call on all politicians to cease creating political sparks, (and start to) prioritise people’s interest and join forces to urge the Agong to immediately invoke this mission for the benefit of the rakyat,” he said.

He said government-linked investment companies (GLICs) should be the large contributors to the fund.

“Seven GLICs control 35 of the top 100 listed companies in Malaysia and have a combined market capitalisation of 42% of the total market capitalisation of the companies listed on Bursa Malaysia.  

“These GLICs control over 68,000 companies directly and indirectly with a minority interest. 

“They are also involved in numerous sectors such as power, telecommunications, plantations, finance, healthcare, aviation and infrastructure and control most major financial institutions,” he said.

He said business corporations, multinational companies and benevolent entities in the T20 category and philanthropists could also contribute to the fund.

“We are confident that Malaysians will generously contribute to the fund. If every Malaysian contributed a minimum of RM1, we will already have more than RM30 million to start with.

He said money remaining should be used to upgrade the public hospitals and healthcare for the people post-pandemic.

As for who should be the custodians of the fund, Solomon recommended that a retired judge without political affiliation heads it with a backing of a panel consisting of representatives of government agencies, trade unions, private businesses, civil society and economists with a track record of people-centric achievements. – May 31, 2021.