KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 ― Youth groups are asking Putrajaya to provide a year’s worth of free milk and RM3,000 to help fresh graduates searching for jobs, as part of measures to mitigate rising cost of living following subsidy rollbacks.
Unveiling the Malaysian Association of Youth Clubs (MAYC)'s 11-point wishlist for Budget 2015, its national information chief Khairul Muzammil Eshak noted that the price of milk was increasing.
“Give free milk to youths marrying for the first time, for their first child for one year,” he told reporters here, observing that some youths marry when they are still in their late teens or while they are still undergraduates.
In Malaysia, the official definition for youth is between the ages of 15 and 40.
Khairul suggested that the government give a monthly allowance of RM500 for up to six months for unemployed youths who are already laden with federal higher education study loans (PTPTN) upon graduation.
He said that this monetary aid to help youths to “survive” the first six months will target those from low-income families in rural areas and would end as soon as they successfully secure a job.
Industrial training should also be provided to the youths during this six month period, he said, adding MAYC's call for Putrajaya to increase allocations for the skills and entrepreneurship courses for youths, especially those in rural areas.
Throughout the presentation of the budget wishlist, Khairul said the government aid was necessary to deter unemployed or financially struggling youths from committing crimes to pass the time or finance themselves.
For those who are still in college or universities, Putrajaya should set up a special fuel subsidy system for them, Khairul said, adding that the discounted amount would depend on factors such as rural and urban campuses.
The federal government should also give special discounts for express bus fares and flight tickets for undergraduates, he suggested.
Khairul said the government should not hand out its monetary aid under the Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) scheme in “one shot” as youths tend to spend all the money immediately, suggesting that it be split into two and be paid out in March and September.
Putrajaya currently gives out an annual cash aid of RM300 to single working adults with monthly wages below RM2,000 and RM650 for households earning less than RM3,000 each month.
Khairul said that the government should introduce a new monthly fuel subsidy of RM100 for youths who qualify for BR1M, with the allocation to be only cashed in through their MyKads when they fill up with petrol and diesel – which the government is already subsidising.
Putrajaya should also ease business and housing loan regulations and help youths get affordable housing, he said.
Khairul said he will hand over MYAC’s 11-point memorandum to the Ministry of Finance’s budget division director later, explaining that the final feedback nationwide for MAYC’s wish-list only came in after Putrajaya’s abrupt announcement last week of the scaling back of RM0.20 per litre for the RON95 petrol and diesel.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is set to table Budget 2015 in Parliament this Friday, with observers speculating that the government may slash subsidies on essential goods while also cushioning the impact of other cost-cutting measures.
