Rightways to Success: June 2021

Monday, 28 June 2021

Malaysia Govt launches Pemulih package worth RM150 bln, including fiscal injection of RM10 bln, new cash aid BKC worth RM4.6 billion

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin unveils the government's latest aid package for the rakyat called Pakej Perlindungan Rakyat dan Pemulihan Ekonomi or Pemulih.

Govt launches PEMULIH Package worth RM150 bln, including fiscal injection of RM10 bln

KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — The government has today launched the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih) worth RM150 billion, comprising the government’s direct fiscal injection of RM10 billion, aimed at providing comprehensive assistance to the people and focusing on three main focuses, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

According to him, the three focuses are Continuing the People’s Welfare Agenda, Supporting Businesses and Increasing Vaccinations.

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit our country, the government has implemented seven assistance programmes and stimulus packages with a total value of RM380 billion.

“So far, more than RM200 billion has been channelled and benefited more than 20 million people and 2.4 million businesses. Budget 2021 is worth RM322.5 billion and there is still RM100 billion to be spent until the end of this year,” he said during the announcement of the Pemulih package which was broadcast live on television today.

Muhyiddin said to focus on continuing the people’s welfare agenda, the government announced that until the end of this year, it would channel direct cash assistance to the people amounting to RM10 billion. This direct cash assistance includes Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat or BPR.

During the recent Pemerkasa Plus announcement, the government agreed to provide additional BPR payment of up to RM500 in July and the payment will be made in stages starting tomorrow, June 29.

Meanwhile, the third phase of BPR with aid of RM100 to RM1,400 will be paid in September.

September will also involve payments of approved BPR appeal cases.

In total, the BPR value until the end of the year was RM4.9 billion.

Meanwhile, to ensure that the people receive assistance in the coming months until the end of 2021, he also announced the provision of Special COVID-19 Assistance or BKC with the following rates and categories:

Hardcore poor households will receive assistance of RM500 in August, RM500 in November and RM300 in December.

Single individuals in the hardcore poor category will receive assistance of RM200 in August and RM300 in November.

B40 households will receive assistance of RM500 in August and RM300 in December and single B40 individuals will receive assistance of RM200 in August.

M40 households will enjoy assistance of RM250, while M40 singles will receive RM100 in August.

“Overall, this BKC grant is expected to benefit more than 11 million households, senior citizens and singles with an allocation of RM4.6 billion,” he said.

He said the government will also provide electricity discounts to domestic and non-domestic consumers where the government will bear an additional cost of RM1 billion.

To focus on supporting business, the government will channel several forms of assistance to ensure business continuity in these two phases.

Through this second focus, several approaches will be improved such as reducing employers’ costs, supporting digitalisation efforts, providing financial assistance and tax incentives, providing financing facilities and continuing employment incentives.

“The implementation of the Prihatin Special Grant or GKP has successfully supported business survival among small traders, especially those who are still not allowed to operate.

“Overall, the government has allocated a total of RM5.1 billion through the GKP initiative. Recently, under Pemerkasa Plus, eligible recipients had already received their GKP 3.0 payment of RM1,000 about two weeks ago and will receive a further RM500 in mid-July,” he said.

The government also understands the difficulties faced by micro, small and medium entrepreneurs at present and announces the provision of additional payments under GKP 4.0 to eligible recipients of RM500 to be paid in September and another RM500 in November 2021.

“The government hopes that with this GKP 4.0 payment, about one million micro, small and medium entrepreneurs, such as barbershop operators, workshop owners, bakery and cake shops, healthcare centres, etc can reduce their monthly liabilities and help their cash flow.

“What is important, for micro-entrepreneurs who have not yet received this assistance, registration will open in mid-July,” he said.

— Bernama Source link

Govt launches PEMULIH Package worth RM150 bln, including ...

PM announces Pemulih package, new cash aid BKC worth RM4.6 billion

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is unveiling the government's latest aid package for the rakyat called Pakej Perlindungan Rakyat dan Pemulihan Ekonomi or Pemulih..

In a special address being broadcast live to the nation this evening, Muhyiddin said the package is worth RM150 billion, including the government's direct fiscal injection of RM10 billion..

Pemulih is aimed at giving a comprehensive aid to the rakyat based on three main focuses; continuing with the Prihatin Rakyat agenda, supporting businesses and increasing vaccination rate..

To ensure that the people continue to receive aid in the months to come until year end, Muhyiddin announced the Bantuan Khas Covid-19 or BKC worth RM4.6 billion which will benefit over 11 million households, senior citizens and singles in the Bottom40 (B40) and Medium40 (M40) categories..

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"In the hardcore poor category, households will receive RM500 in Aug and Nov as well as RM300 in Dec while single people will get RM200 in Aug and RM300 in Nov..

"Households in the B40 category will get RM500 in Aug and RM300 in Dec while single people will receive RM200 in Aug..

"The M40 households and singles, he said, will get RM250 and RM100 respectively in Aug," he said..

https://youtu.be/P3_hgMNUQqk

Muhyiddin said this was in addition to the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat or BPR which was announced in Pemerkasa Plus previously where the government agreed to give aid of up to RM500 in July and in stages starting tomorrow (June 29)..

Phase 3 of the BPR, he said, where the assistance ranges between RM100 and RM1,400 will be paid out in September, along with payments for BPR appeal cases which have been approved..

Overall, the value of BPR stands at RM4.9 billion..

Muhyiddin said there will also be Bantuan Kehilangan Pendapatan where in Oct, Rm500 will be channeled to workers who had lost their income based on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and the Social Security Organisation's (Socso) data this year..

The aid, he said, will benefit up to 1 million members with a financial implication of RM500 million..

"These three financial assistance from June to Dec this year are catered to those who are in need. I hope it will help the beneficiaries for their survival in the coming months, insyaAllah..

"I am aware that many have been badly affected for over a year since the pandemic started. Although millions of Malaysians have benefited from cash assistance since March last year and many had received government aid of sorts, I understand that assistance must continue to be stepped up for as long as this crisis lasts..

"The government will try its best to ease the burden shouldered by the people and we will not stop to do our best," he said..

Muhyiddin added that the government will expand the Elaun Mencari Pekerjaan (Job-Seeking Allowance) to Sosco non-contributors, especially new graduates, school-leavers and informal sector workers where those who are registered under MyFutureJobs are set to receive at least a RM300 allowance..

The government, he added, will allocate RM125 million through the Human Resource Development Corporation to implement the Place and Train initiative under the Janapreneur programme especially for school-leavers and graduates..

"This initiative is expected to offer opportunities to 30,000 people to undergo skill training programmes with the assurance of job employment once it concludes..

"The Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation will enhance its existing programmes which are eRezeki and Glow to assist over 20,000 job seekers in the gig economy sector," he said..

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https://www.malaysianow.com › ... › Lead Story › News

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also announces discounts on ... on electricity bills, to cash and food aid to be allocated through MPs from both sides of the divide. ... part of Pemulih, the government's RM150 billion financial aid package to ... RM4.6 billion for Covid-19 Special Assistance (BKC) involving 11

Sunday, 27 June 2021

Decoding an awakening giant, the China's secret recipe of success for an economic miracle

World main countries 2021 Q1 GDP Growth Infographic: Wu Tiantong/GT

Xi Jinping: Chinese people will never allow foreign bullying, oppressing or subjugating

https://youtu.be/oS5QqS9C_xw

https://youtu.be/J1s1evS3xJc

As China gears up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1, one of the greatest achievements of the CPC to be highlighted is what has been widely described as an economic miracle. From a backward agrarian economy in the early days of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to an economic and technological powerhouse today, China's economic success story under the CPC's leadership has arguably become the global story of the century and the envy of the world.

The secret codes behind such miraculous achievements have also become a hotly debated topic around the world. This article will decode those codes.

Born into a poor rural family with per capita disposal income of less than 50 yuan ($7.80), the PRC, now in its 70s, has seen the income reading top 32,000 yuan as of 2020. Behind the 640-plus fold surge is the country's rapid ascent to a global behemoth in almost every aspect in an unparalleled timeframe and path.

What are the CPC's secret codes to economic success?

To answer that, the Global Times conducted an extensive examination of the CPC's economic policymaking at several critical junctions and interviewed domestic and foreign experts. Four key themes stand out.

World main countries 2021 Q1 GDP Growth Infographic: Wu Tiantong/GT

Bold planning, effective execution

"The five-year planning is the major driving factor that boosted the Chinese economy to the No. 2 in the world. This system is effective and reliable in focusing on and predicting how the economy performs and which necessary adjustments are required to finetune it along the way," David Monyae, director of the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, told the Global Times.

Since its beginning in the 1950s, there have been 14 five-year plans (FYP) - each marks a significant shift in China's economic policies and advances in social and economic development.

The first FYP, which started in 1953, envisioned the industrialization of China, starting the 60-plus year journey of creating an economic constellation that's being renovated every five years.

"China has led a different path than the West's laissez-faire capitalism or its so-called marketization. China maintains more compelling institutional prowess than the West," said Cong Yi, dean of School of Marxism under Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, citing the Party's strong ability to make strategic development plans that integrate short-term plans into medium and long-term ones.

After initially drawing on the Soviet Union's five-year planning experience, the CPC soon realized the limitations of the Soviet model and some of its shortcomings and mistakes, and then decided to independently explore a socialist construction road suited to China's national conditions, which, coupled with laser focus and effective execution, led to one milestone after another.

The 13th CPC National Congress in 1987 made a proposition of a three-step development strategy that envisaged doubling the gross national product (GNP) between 1981 and 1990, doubling its GNP again by the end of the 20th century and per capita GNP reaching moderately developed country levels by the middle of this century.

Buoyed by unprecedented reformist drives since the country's grand reform and opening-up in 1978, the second-step target was hit at the conclusion of the Eighth FYP (1991-95), five years ahead of schedule.

In yet another milestone, the Third Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee in November 1993 passed the decision on certain issues in establishing a socialist market economic system. With the guidance of the Ninth FYP (1996-2000), the country made good the transition from a planned economy to a socialist market economy in 2000, a prelude to its accession to the WTO in December 2001.

In the latest proof of the effectiveness of the FYP, just as planned, the alternation of the 13th FYP ended 2020 and the newest FYP starting this year is on course to deliver a victory for its first centenary goal of building a moderately well-off society on the CPC's 100th anniversary.

"The main feature of the five-year plans is the top-level design, which is holistic, macroscopic, forward looking, anticipatory and binding," Zhao Xuejun, director of the Modern Economic History of China Research Center under Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Institute of Economics, told the Global Times.

Today, China's FYPs have become a closely watched policy document around the world as it provides a valuable window into China's economic policies and development goals.

This year, global attention was focused on the 14th FYP ending 2025, which is set to pave the way for the second centenary goal to be attained - building a modern socialist power by 2049 when the PRC turns 100.

File photo:VCG

Seeking truth from facts

However, even as China's economy advanced in an overall steady pace as planned, there were no shortages of difficulties and mistakes over the past several decades - from some early decisions and policies that were against market rules to the "decade of the catastrophe," to the blind pursuit of extensive and high-speed growth over a certain period of time.

In overcoming those challenges and mistakes, the CPC showed its ability to "seek truth from facts" - a phrase that epitomizes the Party's flexibility and ability to objectively pinpoint the problems, experts said.

That ability was highlighted in the Party's response to crises during the Great Leap Forward era, which coincided with the Three Years of Natural Disasters (1959-61) and the breakdown of Sino-Soviet Union relations.

During the period, exaggeration about production prevailed across China, being called "launching satellites," and from wheat, rice and steel, places and reports started to boast of false high productions. The economic and social campaign that aimed for a rapid industrialization to steer the-then poor economy into a modern communist society appeared to have wrong-footed the economy.

Instead of turning a blind eye to the truth, the CPC Central Committee urged maximum efforts to correct all deviations in an urgent instruction letter in November 1960 and a Party plenum in January 1961 decided on the implementation of an economic adjustment.

As the economy ran its course of adjustment at the end of 1965 and began its third FYP, the Cultural Revolution began, putting the country in "10 years of catastrophe" until 1976.

Then came another turn - the 11th National Congress of the CPC in August 1977 declared the end of the Cultural Revolution and reiterated that the Party's fundamental task was to build the country into a socialist modern power.

"The CPC has a strong mechanism of self-correction; internally it came from the democratic system of the Party, and essentially it is built on the Party's tenet of seeking interest for the people and re-juvenation for the nation," Zhao told the Global Times.

The perseverance with seeking truth comes across as building the economy's resilience that has dissolved various challenges and crises, such as the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, into hiccups which only result in increased economic sophistication, observers noted.

In response to the crises, the CPC was able to seek truth from facts and be flexible, as well as to be free from prejudice and ideological bias, encouraging local exploration and innovation, Zhao said.

In another striking and more recent example, the Party has managed to bid farewell to an unhealthy obsession with GDP growth that regards GDP statistics as the core or even the only indicator for assessing government performance, which stoked concerns over high GDP numbers at the expense of the environment and economic imbalance.

For instance, in August 2014, East China's Fujian Province cancelled the GDP assessment in 34 counties and cities, and implemented the evaluation method of giving priority to agriculture and ecological protection.

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 17, 2020 shows the Houhai area in Nanshan District of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. Photo:xinhua

Reform and opening-up

Just as the CPC is very swift in correcting mistakes, it is also profoundly persistent and steadfast in carrying out scientific policies - another pillar of the CPC's economic success.

The milestone Third Plenum of the 11th CPC Central Committee in December 1978 has been widely known as a starting point for the economy's 40-plus years of reform and opening-up, ushering in a transition from a class struggle-themed Party platform to a focus on economic building.

The main resistance force came from people's fear of capitalism, thinking that opening to the outside world would alchemize New China. With keen observation on the world's development in economy and science and technology, Deng Xiaoping launched the opening-up policy, pushing aside all hesitance and skepticism.

In early 1982, the Shekou industrial zone in Shenzhen was criticized by some for planning to hire a foreign business manager. When Deng learned this, he immediately applauded the decision, saying that it's OK to hire foreigners as managers and it is no traitorous behavior.

The reform of the country's state-owned enterprises (SOE) is an evocative story of the country's undaunted approach to boosting its economy.

By 1987, 80 percent of the country's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) adopted various forms of the contracted managerial responsibility system. Some enterprises even began to undertake shareholding system reforms.

Graphic:GT

In the first quarter of 1996, the country's 68,800 SOEs, as a whole, recorded their first net loss since the founding of the PRC.

After the pain comes the result. From 1989 to 2001, though the number of SOEs dropped to 46,800 from 102,300, their total industrial added value increased to 1.47 trillion yuan from 389.5 billion yuan, surging 11.67 percent annually.

Despite tremendous success over the past several decades, difficulties and hurdles never ceased to test China's commitment to the reform and opening-up policies today.

The thorn-covered yet high-yielding road to reform and opening-up, as such, was being paved as efforts to liberate thoughts and the bold push for innovation trickled in. With an endeavor to sustain liberation on multiple fronts for there to be even deeper reforms, China finally pushed through.

In 2020, China overtook the US to become the world's top destination for new foreign direct in-vestment. In the first five months of 2021 alone, China attracted 18,497 new foreign-funded firms and 481 billion yuan in foreign capital.

Graphic:GT

Self-sufficiency, innovation-driven

However, increasingly opening up to the outside world does not mean China will not mitigate seri-ous risks for its national and economic security. Since the earlier days of the CPC's leadership, self-sufficiency in many core sectors such as food and technology was a major focus, which has also become a key code to the CPC's success.

In an early sign of a self-reliant approach to development, by 1964, the self-sufficiency rate of China's main machinery and equipment had reached over 90 percent. With construction of the Daqing oilfield completed and Shengli and Dagang oilfields under development, China achieved total self-sufficiency in oil by 1965.

Since then, that quest for self-sufficiency in many areas, including technological innovation, has never stopped and has helped lift China to a world-leading global technological power in many areas - from 5G to high-speed rails, and from new-energy vehicles to space exploration technologies.

Just last week, China pulled off the country's first-ever automated fast rendezvous and docking of a manned spacecraft with China's orbiting space station core cabin, after the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft was successfully launched on the Long March-2F Y12 carrier rocket.

China's considerable technological prowess has already unnerved the US, which has been a domi-nant player for decades.

The CPC's focus on self-sufficiency and innovation-driven strategy was particularly notable in the country's efforts to mitigate an increasingly hostile external environment marked by a relentless attempt by the US to contain China's rise.

Even before the US' crackdown campaign, the focus on self-dependence and technological innova-tion was highlighted as the CPC convened its 19th National Congress in October 2017, where a new era of China's socialism was declared. The Party's 18th National Congress also introduced an innovation-driven development strategy.

Since then, in a series of meetings and top policy documents, the CPC has constantly stepped up efforts to pursue efficiency in a wide range of areas, from semiconductors to crop seeds.

"Against the backdrop of an intensifying China-US rivalry, China may face rising risks of high-tech blocks, supply chain obstruction, or further trade disputes. What China needs to do is focus on its own business and concentrate on overcoming the difficulties in key technologies, equipment, raw materials and design software that are being held back by Western countries, and coordinate devel-opment and security," said Zhao.

As these new challenges emerge, while China is no longer the backward, war-torn country it was 7 decades ago, challenges and risks, both domestic and foreign, remain. With the CPC's firm leader-ship and its proven successful economic policymaking, China is better positioned than ever to reach its bold development goal of becoming a modern socialist power in the coming decades, analysts said.

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Thursday, 24 June 2021

The US, West bound to lose ‘war on human rights’ against China

https://youtu.be/j7Ubz8CYXhE

Ambassador Chen Xu, permanent representative of China to the United Nations office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, speaks during the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council. Photo: Liu Xin/GT

Human rights are currently the most prominent "battleground" between China and the US. The latter has rallied its allies and made the Xinjiang issue the main focus of its attacks. At the recent United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council meeting, Canada, on behalf of 41 countries, slammed China on the human rights situation in Xinjiang, while Belarus, on behalf of 65 countries, supported China. In total, more than 90 countries have expressed support to China in various ways. This is the latest microcosm of this increasingly heated struggle.

We believe that the US and its main allies have no chance of winning this "human rights war" against China. At this Human Rights Council meeting, despite the high profile of the US and its allies, the countries supporting China greatly outnumber those that followed the steps of the coalition led by Washington. The pattern of the long-term struggle will not change. Moreover, since the attacks from the US and its alliance aim at China, a wrong target, they will not only find they are fighting a unwinnable war, t will also particularly demonstrate their isolation because they do not have justice on their side. Thus, it further breaks their human rights card and makes it even more ineffective.

The fundamental reason is because their definition of human rights is narrow and West-centered, and they have tried outrageously to make their definition universal, which is in stark contrast to the reality of developing countries. This poses a realistic threat and challenge to those countries' order and development pace. Such being the case, it has sparked dissatisfaction and been inevitably resisted by people around the world.

The meaning of human rights is abundant. Different people have varied human rights concerns. The "human rights card" played by the West against developing countries has limited focus on "exaggerated personal political rights". In the process, the West acknowledges only their own social order as legitimate and reasonable, and refuses to recognize that the social order in developing countries is the basis for realizing development and progress

What is the largest gap between developing countries and Western ones? From the standpoint of developing countries, the biggest gap lies in economic development and living standards. So most developing countries emphasize constant improvement of people's livelihood. But as for Western countries like the US, they use their own governance model to judge personal political rights in developing countries, trying to distract those countries and disrupt their agenda.

Worse, the West has become extreme in this regard. As a result, US-led countries have even demanded individuals' sabotaging moves as actions to practice political freedom in developing countries. The double standards that the international community detests have been formed.

The world has been sick of such a human rights card. Therefore, China's move to hit back such a card of the US and the West has been welcomed across the world. In the past decades, China has made remarkable achievements in development, while simultaneously making widely known improvements in human rights. During this period, the Chinese model has become more attractive, and China has become more convincing in its human rights narratives. The era when the West dominated human rights affairs has gone. Now, China and other developing countries are more confidently practicing their own human rights construction.

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Everyone must do their part to lowering Covid-19 infectivity rate

PETALING JAYA: The nation’s Covid-19 infectivity rate will keep rising due to increasing active clusters and sporadic cases in the community unless people are vaccinated quickly and widely, say health experts.

Universiti Putra Malaysia medical epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman said the rise in the infectivity rate, or the R-naught (R0) value, was expected as there were about 850 active clusters nationwide as of Monday.

She said active clusters had been increasing since April 4, when 359 were recorded. On May 5, the number of active clusters rose to 411 and on June 6, it climbed to 713.

“Even though we hope cases can be reduced through contact tracing and screening, some cases from ongoing clusters may have been left unchecked or escaped the screening. This subsequently introduces the infection to other settings.

“That is why a self-lockdown and adherence to the standard operating procedure (SOP) are very important to curb the spread,” she said when contacted yesterday.

To bring down the R0, Dr Malina said cooperation from the community was vital.

“Suppression of the infection is no longer on the government’s shoulders alone. It has to be done fully by the community.

“We hope that by next week, the number of fully vaccinated persons in the community can reach up to 10% (of the population) and that people will adhere to the SOP.

“Without these measures, the R0 projection may be increased,” she said, adding that this would contribute to more Covid-19 cases.

“Those who have been vaccinated need to continue adhering to the SOP. As for those who are entitled

to receive the vaccine early, please contact the nearest healthcare facility directly,” she said.

Dr Malina suggested that the government allow the elderly and people with disabilities to get their vaccine via walk-ins and for those in the economic sectors to be vaccinated together with their families.

Since the start of the ongoing lockdown on June 1, the R0 levels nationwide had dropped from a high of 1.07 to a low of 0.90 on June 12.But from June 13 to June 20, the R0 gradually rose from 0.91 to 0.97.

The R0 of a virus is a measure of its transmission or number of new infections generated by each case.

For example, an R0 rate of 1.0 means that on average, each infected person will infect one other person they come into contact with.

On June 20, the highest R0 recorded was in Negri Sembilan at 1.05. This was followed by Johor (1.0), Sarawak (0.99), Labuan (0.98), Kuala Lumpur (0.96), Sabah (0.96), Selangor (0.93), Melaka (0.91), Kedah (0.90) and Perak (0.90). The remaining states recorded an R0 of less than 0.90 each.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia health economics, hospital and health management Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said she believed the R0 would keep rising unless the government could vaccinate the population “quickly and widely enough”.She added that Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor had contributed to the increasing infectivity rate.

“The projected average R0 next week may increase to more than 1.0 unless we can curtail sporadic cases through increased screening, detection and isolation while maintaining a high inoculation rate in red zones in these states,” she said.

She added that the movement of people was also a contributing factor, as evidenced by the high number of private sector employees who were allowed to go to their workplace despite the lockdown.

She said the inability to tackle the high number of sporadic cases in the community had also fuelled the R0, adding that those cases were usually asymptomatic and could contribute to the high number of daily “brought in dead” cases nationwide.

“Since many people have not been vaccinated or screened for Covid-19, they could be moving around and spreading the virus,”

she said.She advised people from hard-hit areas where sporadic cases had been reported to go for screening.She added that the fee for Covid-19 tests should also be kept low to enable people to access the service.

The government, Prof Sharifa Ezat said, should ease access to vaccines by having more outreach programmes, drive-through vaccinations and vaccine literacy talks.

International Islamic University Malaysia epidemiologist Prof Dr Jamalludin Ab Rahman had also observed the R0 increase early on.“Since the R0 values are compared to the previous values, the day when we observe a significant dip may cause the subsequent daily R0 to be higher,” he said.

Prof Jamalludin said the rising R0 may prove to be of concern, but this could only be determined if testing rates remained constant since the number of tests could affect the reporting of new cases.

He was also concerned about sporadic cases in the community.

“If the investigation of each positive case is not done properly, we might miss contacts which would spread further to others,” he added.

He said to some degree, the lockdown and vaccination programme had been able to bring down the transmission rates.

But he said the authorities needed to identify the source of Covid-19 cases, which mainly come from workplace clusters currently, and potentially also community clusters.

“We also need to improve the vaccine rollout. We need to secure the supply and quickly vaccinate the population. There is no magic or faster way out,” he added.

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RM30bil more cash aid to be distributed

Govt is also working on additional assistance under National Recovery Plan

PETALING JAYA: The government has close to RM30bil left to be distributed to the rakyat and businesses in the form of cash aid and indirect assistance.

The amount represents about 63.5% of the government’s initial allocation of RM46.3bil for the entire year of 2021.

These are not inclusive of the additional assistance measures that will be announced in due course to mitigate the impact of the upcoming Phases 2, 3 and 4 of the lockdown.

Speaking at a virtual briefing yesterday, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz (pic) said out of the RM16.7bil cash aid allocated for 2021, about RM8.1bil would be channelled to affected households and individuals between June and December.

This will be in the form of Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (RM4.5bil), Bantuan Kebajikan Masyarakat (RM1.25bil), Jaringan Prihatin (RM1.75bil), eBelia e-wallet credit programme (RM80mil) and assistance for taxi and e-hailing drivers as well as tour guides (RM70.7mil).

Meanwhile, about RM9.8bil in financial aid will be distributed to businesses between June and December.

Earlier, the government had allocated RM14.1bil in cash assistance for this group.

The remaining cash aid for businesses are wage subsidy and hiring incentive programme (RM6.29bil), Prihatin Special Grant (RM1.5bil), microcredit financing facility (RM1bil), electricity bill discount for six sectors (RM344.7mil) and SME Digitalisation Grant (RM14.3mil).

In addition to such assistance, the government will also provide indirect help to four sectors, namely, consumers, education, transportation and agriculture. These include subsidies for petrol, flour, cooking oil and toll, among others.

Out of the RM15.5bil allocated for 2021, about RM4bil has been spent in the first five months of the year, leaving RM11.5bil for the next seven months.

In comparison, the government has only spent RM9bil for such assistance last year.

Despite the government’s limited fiscal space amid astronomical spending incurred since last year to prop up the flailing economy, Tengku Zafrul said the government remain committed to helping households and businesses that were affected by the lockdown.

“In terms of assistance, the government has already announced the Pemerkasa+ package to complement the earlier stimulus packages of Permai and Pemerkasa, as well as Budget 2021.

“In this context, Pemerkasa+ is an additional assistance for the Phase 1 of the lockdown, which is now in place.

“Currently, the government is working on additional assistance according to the needs of each phase under the National Recovery Plan (NRP).

“This will be announced in the near future,” he said.

Tengku Zafrul pointed out that the transition to each subsequent phase of the lockdown would only be done once the criteria mentioned in the NRP were met.

He added that the government does not intend to reopen the economy “too much, too soon”.

Nevertheless, Tengku Zafrul acknowledged that the government could not afford a full movement control order for too long.

“Neither can our rakyat, particularly in terms of loss of income, loss of jobs and ultimately their ability to put food on the table.

“It is estimated that the economy loses RM1bil a day in Phase 1 of the lockdown,” he said.

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