Govt approves RM12.2 bln wage subsidy as of Oct 30 - Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of RM12.16 billion in wage subsidy under the Wage Subsidy Programme (PSU) had been approved as of Oct 30, 2020, benefitting more than 322,284 employers and 2.639 million employees.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said this was an increase from the RM11.998 billion approved as of Oct 16.

“The next phase is PSU 2.0, which commenced on Oct 1, 2020. As a reminder, employers can still apply for PSU 2.0 under the KITA PRIHATIN Package which is open for application until Dec 31, 2020.

“I would also like to emphasise that in Budget 2021, the government has allocated RM1.5 billion to extend the PSU for another three months, to assist 70,000 employers and 900,000 workers, especially in the tourism and retail sectors," the minister said.

Tengku Zafrul said this when presenting the 28th Economic Stimulus Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (LAKSANA) report through his Facebook account today.

In addition, he said the PSU prioritises entrepreneurs’ abilities to maintain their business capacity.

He urged the affected employers to obtain government’s assistance to maintain operational capacity and ensure their company remains competitive, as the business environment improves.

On the Reskilling and Upskilling Programme, he said as at Oct 30, a total of 106,047 individuals have been approved (an increase from 105,312 last week) to participate in the programme.

Among the courses that are in high demand are the IR4.0 programme, entrepreneurship training, trade digitisation, as well as the job search skills Boot Camp programme.

“For the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) 2.0, which is expected to ease the burden of 7.5 million B40 recipients, as well as 3.1 million M40 recipients; as of Nov 3, 2020, a total of RM4.5 billion has been channelled to over 9.86 million recipients, including seven million from the B40 category and 2.86 million from the M40 category.

“The government would also like to remind the public that new applications for BPN 2.0 is open until Nov 15, 2020.

“For those whose applications have been approved, payments will be made in one lump sum in January 2021,” he said.

Tengku Zafrul also announced that the PRIHATIN Special Grant application was closed on Oct 31 and the eligibility screening is underway.

Eligible micro small and medium enterprises will receive one-off assistance amounting to RM3,000 and the payment will be made from Nov 25, 2020.

-- BERNAMA