KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng today decried the government’s latest financial aid as a rehash of past economic stimulus packages catering mostly to businesses and with little for the man-on-the-street.

The DAP secretary-general said the Malaysian Economic and Rakyat Protection Assistance Package (Permai) announced yesterday by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin only has an estimate of RM3.87 billion in direct spending to cushion Covid-19’s impact on citizens.

Describing the RM15 billion stimulus package for businesses and the people to cope with the movement control order (MCO) as a huge disappointment, Lim said there was no new cash injection to the economy and the package was merely recycled from Budget 2021 or previously announced economic stimulus packages.

“What can a RM15 billion aid package, with an estimated direct spending of a mere RM3.87 billion repurposed or redirected from existing spending priorities, help our economy to recover?

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“This ‘old wine in new bottle’ approach can be seen by Muhyiddin’s own admission that the funds required is not new money, but reallocated from existing funds in Budget 2021,” he said in a statement.

Lim added that the amount was a far cry from the RM45 billion economic stimulus package mooted by the Opposition in December last year to overcome the current economic recession to save jobs and businesses.

A table of estimated direct spending by the government including grants redirected from existing approved spending estimates as revealed in Muhyiddin’s Permai unveiling speech on Monday, was also included in Lim’s statement.

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Lim said the RM3.87 billion also excluded government guarantees, EPF measures, tax cuts, fee exemptions and moratorium-related measures.

The Bagan MP cited the country’s gross domestic product growth recording a plunge of negative 17.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 after the first MCO in March last year.

“Muhyiddin must be either ignorant or given wrong advice if he expects the impact of the MCO 2.0 to be less damaging to the economy, compared to MCO 1.0 imposed on March 18, 2020, by reason that many businesses are now allowed to operate.

“If the economy plunges by 2 per cent in either the first or second quarter for this year, this cannot be good for the Malaysian economy when in relative terms, robust economic growth this year was expected,” he said in reference to the renewed MCO in several states nationwide until January 26 announced by Muhyiddin last week.

He also questioned Muhyiddin on why rental relief or subsidy for businesses currently suffering without any income were excluded under Permai, impelling the latter to reveal how Permai would help to slow down retrenchments or business closures and save the economic livelihood of ordinary Malaysians.

“As there is no fresh fiscal injection into the economy under PERMAI, there is minimal significant impact on economic growth to lift our economy out of the recession,” he added.

Permai will include 22 new initiatives that Muhyiddin said will put money in people’s pockets and ensure the survival of businesses.