Budget 2021 offers ray of hope to Malaysians affected by pandemic

He also opines that the Budget is extremely concerned with the sufferings of the people and the country in facing these challenging times.

“Budget 2021 is one that focuses on workers badly affected and in ‘critical condition’ in whatever field,” he said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.

He said that for the sake of survival, those affected, especially those who have lost their jobs, were extremely hopeful of withdrawing a certain amount of their contributions in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as contained under Budget 2021.

In the meantime, National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) chairman Zakaria Addul Hamid said that Budget 2021 was most welcome by the country’s creative players as it provided a ray of hope to the continuation of the industry.

“The year 2021 is a critical year in the recovery of the economy, which has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic…Budget 2021 can revive the country’s economy as a whole, including the ecosystem of the nation’s creative industry,” he said.

He said that as for Finas, it was extremely important that Budget 2021 is approved so that programmes that had been planned could be implemented without any hindrances, thus providing job and income opportunities to every layer of the country’s creative industry players.

“The income of many behind-the-scenes workers has been affected this year due to delays in filming on location, so the Budget’s approval is very much needed for the industry’s continuation,” he said.

National Fishermen's Association (Nekmat) chairman Abdul Hamid Bahari said all the initiatives announced by the government through Budget 2021, which he described as expansionary, was in line with the current situation, especially since the effects of the pandemic would continue to be felt next year.

“The government can also provide opportunities to the fishing community to venture into the field of food production through loans or business capital advances,” he said, adding that Budget 2021 would help the overall economic sector, including agro-food entrepreneurs, to recover and continue their respective businesses.

Meanwhile, Association of Registered Childcare Providers Malaysia (PPBM) president Anisa Ahmad said it was necessary and important to approve anything that could help improve the quality of early childhood education.

“It’s also good to have allocations for KEMAS (the Community Development Department) as there are still many KEMAS nurseries that need to be upgraded,” she said.