Malaysia budgets RM20.107 billion for wage subsidies

The wage subsidies are expected to keep 2,951,245 Malaysian workers employed in the government’s effort to reduce joblessness.

This was announced by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who said the government will continue the PSU initiative based on total sales or revenue in the last quarter of 2021 compared to any month in 2019 until 2021.

“Applications have been open since January 1, 2022 until March 31, 2022 but employers from sectors and industrial activities that are not listed but are still affected due to the spread of COVID-19 can still submit an appeal online to Socso.

“With an allocation of RM600 million, this initiative will benefit more than 26,000 employers and 330,000 employees,” he said in the 81st Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) report released recently.

As of December 31, 2021, a total of RM2.148 billion (US$513.9 million) has been channelled to 142,539 employers to continue operating and maintain employment for 1,698,999 employees through PSU 4.0, said the minister.

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Through various ministries and government agencies, the government will continue its training and skills upgrading efforts for 2022 with a total allocation of RM1.1 billion (US$263.2 million) targeting 220,000 job opportunities, according to Bernama.