Govt took decisive, timely action to curb Covid-19 — Azmin

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin took decisive and timely action to deal comprehensively with the Covid-19 outbreak, Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said yesterday.

He said the government had launched a systematic campaign firstly to introduce a holistic set of health measures and protocols in order to secure the well-being and lives of the people.

“At the same time, the government implemented various stimulus packages to help cushion the economic repercussions of these measures and to sustain growth and ensure economic viability,” he said in his opening remarks at the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) Top Talk titled ‘ Malaysia’s Experience: Economic Resilience and Business Continuity Measures to Recover from Covid-19’.

He said to strengthen the economy during the Covid19 outbreak, a six-pronged approach, namely Resolve, Resilience, Restart, Recovery, Revitalise and Reform, has been implemented.

He said the government introduced a massive stimulus package worth RM295 billion comprising the RM250 billion Prihatin Rakyat economic stimulus package (Prihatin), the supplementary RM10 billion special stimulus package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the RM35 billion Penjana short-term economic recovery plan.

He said to assist SMEs, which comprise 98 per cent of businesses in the country, the government has allocated RM5 billion under Bank Negara Malaysia’s Special Relief Facility (SRF).

In addition, RM1 billion was further injected into the All Economic Sectors (AES) Facility, to enhance access to financing for SMEs and to support growth.

Through Prihatin, the government also introduced the Wage Subsidy Programme amounting to RM13.8 billion to assist employers in retaining their workers, and this scheme is estimated to have benefited more than four million workers.

He said at the same time, financial institutions offered a six-month moratorium on repayment of loans estimated at RM100 billion benefiting the people and businesses.

The loan deferments, granted since April 1, provided further assistance to companies to continue operations or immediately resume business activities.