COVID-19 Fund ceiling to be raised to RM65 bil

KUALA LUMPUR: The government intends to amend the schedule of the Temporary Measures for Government Financing Act (Coronvirus disease 2019) to raise the ceiling of the COVID-19 Fund by RM20 billion to RM65 billion.

Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the move takes into account the pandemic’s latest wave and needs until 2022.

“Its main purpose is to fund the KITA PRIHATIN (PRIHATIN Supplementary Initiative Framework) package, additional assistance for the well-being of the people, frontliners’ needs and future vaccine procurement," he said when presenting Budget 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Tengku Zafrul said the Act will allow the government’s debt statutory limit to be temporarily increased to 60 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) compared to 55 per cent before this.

He said Parliament had previously approved the RM45 billion allocation ceiling for the COVID-19 Fund.

-- BERNAMA