Malaysia rolls out RM15 billion economic package
To mitigate the impact of the pandemic, the Malaysian government has announced a new economic assistance package worth RM15 billion (US$3.7 billion).
The Malaysian Economic and Rakyat Protection Assistance Package, otherwise called Permai, boosts the current initiatives in place to help Malaysians cope with the impact of COVID-19, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address.
“A total of 22 initiatives will be implemented under PERMAI, and they are based on three main objectives – firstly to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, secondly to protect the people’s welfare and thirdly to support business continuity,” he said.
To support business continuity, initiatives include a one-off monetary assistance for taxi and bus drivers, and a special 10% discount on electric bills from January to March for six business sectors across the country.
The tax relief period for the purchase of mobile phones, computers and tablets, the period for free Internet access by the telecommunication industry, and the sales tax exemption period on passenger vehicles will also be extended, he added.
READ: Malaysian unions urge government to prevent retrenchments as MCO starts
Facing rising COVID-19 cases, the government on Tuesday announced that all states in Malaysia, except Sarawak, will be placed under movement controls from this Friday.
As of Tuesday, the health ministry reported 3,631 new COVID-19 cases nationwide.
