KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — The additional Prihatin Special Grant (GKP 5.0) will be introduced by the government to further ensure business sustainability, especially for the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

According to him, the government is aware and agrees that SMEs are the engine of growth of the country’s economy, especially in generating jobs and they make up 98 per cent of business entities in the country.

"The SME sector contributes 40 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and it is a large amount, so it must be given space and allowed to do business and this includes Makcik Kiah who opens stalls, operates at night markets and so on,” he said at a special press conference here today.

Muhyiddin said the government has so far channelled RM6.1 billion to the SME sector through GKP 1.0, GKP 2.0, GKP 3.0 and GKP 4.0 and additional GKP.

He also said that since March 2020, the government has spent more than RM15 billion, involving 330,000 employers/ companies and this has helped maintain more than 2.7 million jobs so far. — Bernama