KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 ― Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng urged the government to raise RM45 billion through bonds and use this to shield Malaysians from the economic impact of the latest movement control order, or better known as MCO 3.0.
The Bagan MP said the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government must announce a whole-of-society economic stimulus package to save jobs, businesses and livelihoods of Malaysians following the extension of MCO 3.0 to June 28.
“Malaysians can only benefit, and Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has nothing to lose by borrowing RM45 billion from the RM1.3 trillion domestic debt market to help financially troubled companies and Malaysians face the adverse economic impact of the total lockdown.
“Since the total lockdown is going to be extended by another two weeks, there must be another financial aid package to help distressed companies and displaced workers,” he said.
The DAP secretary-general added that the RM45 billion would help mitigate an estimated RM60 billion worth of losses faced by the country during MCO 3.0.
He added that the cash injection into the economy must directly benefit workers and businesses, which encompasses an automatic extension of the moratorium of bank loan repayments, work hiring incentives over a period of two years, RM3.5 billion for the Health Ministry ramp up its vaccination programme and RM28 million in the form of financial grants.
“What is needed to pull out of an economic recession is serial financial aid on a regular basis to save jobs, businesses and economic livelihood. The method of one-off aid is a financial band aid that will not protect the economic livelihood of ordinary workers and financially distressed Malaysians.
He said that financial aid should also not be limited to just the B40 group, but should include the M40 group to prevent them from falling into the B40 group.
“Just as in refusing to convene Parliament even though all MPs have been vaccinated, an extension of the two-week lockdown without any additional financial aid is irresponsible and unreasonable,” he said.
