KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 ― Over 9.86 million Malaysians ― comprising seven million B40 recipients and 2.86 million M40 recipients ― have received payments totalling RM4.5 billion under Phase One of the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional 2.0 (BPN 2.0).
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the application or appeal period for BPN 2.0 ended on November 15 under the Kita Prihatin Economic Stimulus Package.
“Payments under Phase Two, along with payments for new applications and approved appeals will be made in January 2021,” he said in the 29th Economic Stimulus Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) report today.
On the Prihatin Special Grant (GKP), Tengku Zafrul said those who had applied by the October 31 deadline could check their application status from November 27 onwards, with payments scheduled to commence November 30.
“It is expected that 200,000 eligible small and medium enterprises (SMEs) would receive one-off assistance amounting to RM3,000 each; with payments totalling RM600 million,” he said.
On the Wage Subsidy Programme 2.0 (WSP 2.0) which started in October 2020, he said as of November 6, RM122.19 million were disbursed to 24,762 employers to enable them to continue operating and retain a total of 203,654 employees.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul stressed that the government remained committed in restoring and revitalising economic growth in order to strengthen the country's resilience in the face of any crisis.
He said the government has outlined three main goals under Budget 2021, namely, to ensure the people’s well-being, business continuity and economic resilience.
“All the initiatives and programmes announced through Budget 2021 are expected to contribute four percentage points to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) next year, towards ensuring more sustainable economic growth to improve the people’s well-being.
“This is a continuation of the economic stimulus packages, namely Prihatin, Penjana and Kita Prihatin which has contributed between 3.7 and 4.0 percentage points to the country’s GDP this year,” Tengku Zafrul said.
In the report, the minister also highlighted misconceptions or questions about the implementation of the moratorium, based on information received from Bank Negara Malaysia.
This includes questions on financial assistance, targeted repayment assistance, documentation for banks, application process, interest rate and Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS). ― Bernama
