Government urged to consider expanding moratorium assistance, EPF withdrawal

KUALA LUMPUR:The government is urged to consider the extension of the moratorium and to refine the withdrawal of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) facility by further increasing the category of those who can benefit.

Putra Business School Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) senior lecturer, Associate Prof Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said the assistance can increase the people's disposable income.

"The Bantuan Prihatian Rakyat is a one-off and more focused on certain groups only.

"Because of this , the one-off assistance is not enough to cover the monthly expenses," he said when interviewed by Astro AWANI here, on Tuesday.

Commenting further, Ahmed Razman said although the government provides payment structuring, there is still room to refine it.

According to him, the 2021 Budget is relatively much focused on the B40 group and micro-industries.

He said, apart from the M40 group, the government should also look at the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) involved in the services and tourism industry which were still unable to fulfill their monthly commitments.

“While many have commented that there are not many initiatives to generate an economy to record positive growth, however I see the priority is more on the issue of addressing and helping those severely affected.

"There is time for the government to table a follow-up Budget or Fiscal Stimulus Package for next year," he explained.