KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — A total of RM5.08 billion has been and will be channelled to nearly one million micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under the Geran Khas Prihatin (GKP) to tide over their difficulties since Covid-19 hit the country, Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said.

"The government hopes the direct assistance channelled to the micro SMEs will ease their burden, especially those affected by the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) 3.0,” he said in a statement today.

Under Pemerkasa, announced on March 17, 2021, he said the government decided to provide GKP 3.0 of RM1,000 to more than one million micro traders to ensure the continuity of their business, especially in managing their cash flow.

Tengku Zaful said the government gave a similar commitment under Pemerkasa Plus, which was unveiled on May 31, 2021, where an additional amount of RM500 would be disbursed, increasing the total payment to RM1,500 for each micro SMEs to help them navigate through MCO 3.0.

This means the total payment of GKP 3.0 is RM1.5 billion.

"We are pleased to inform that nearly one million micro SMEs involving existing recipients of MCO 1.0 and MCO 2.0, as well as micro SMEs that have been approved under MCO 3.0, will receive a payment of RM1,000 from June 10 (Thursday) in stages involving financial implications of almost RM1.0 billion,” he said.

Tengku Zafrul said the payment will be credited directly to the bank account registered in the GKP system and the approval status can be checked from June 8, 2021 at the following link https://gkp.hasil.gov.my.

An additional payment of RM500, involving an allocation of almost RM500 million, will be paid in July 2021 bringing the total amount under GKP 3.0 to RM1.5 billion. — Bernama