Govt continues to build economic resilience, to drive changes post-pandemic - Tengku Zafrul

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the government is not just maintaining direct financial aid but has also improved its allocation to almost RM12 billion for the benefit of the Malaysian Family in 2022.

Among others, this included the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) aid worth RM8.2 billion for 9.6 million recipients, encompassing extra aid for single mothers or fathers, the B40 and M40 income groups, wage subsidy programme for tourism-related employers and an improved work guarantee incentive wage scheme which focuses on vulnerable groups.

"Among the important agendas in the budget is the continuing effort to create job opportunities," he said in an interview on Bernama TV on the Economic Stimulus Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (LAKSANA) report tonight.

The government is confident of surpassing the 500,000 jobs target this year, he said, as it has already created 440,000 jobs up to Oct 22.

"This means we have achieved more than 87 per cent of the target to create 500,000 jobs this year. We are confident of surpassing the target in the last two months of 2021," Tengku Zafrul said.

For 2022, the government has targeted 600,000 jobs with an allocation of RM4.8 billion through the JaminKerja Keluarga Malaysia initiative.

On the recovery of the tourism sector, Tengku Zafrul said the implementation of the Wage Subsidy Programme, which involved the allocation of RM600 million, will benefit over 26,000 employers and 330,000 workers.

Besides the special financing of RM600 million under the PENJANA Tourism Financing and Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (BPMB) Rehabilitation Scheme, special aid to 20,000 tourism enterprises with an allocation of RM85 million and the maintenance of tourism infrastructure with an allocation of RM50 million have also been provided.

The government will continue to provide matching grants to 739 budget hotels for their upgrades and repair grants to homestay owners with an allocation of RM30 million as well as RM50 million in matching grants to companies that organise art and cultural programmes.

A RM60 million fund to promote domestic tourism and tax relief of RM1,000 for individuals for local tourism expenses have also been provided.

In the TV programme, Azami Hamdani, the owner of Simfoni Resort in Langkawi, was also interviewed and he expressed gratitude for the aid received from the government channelled through the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA).

He said the Wage Subsidy Programme has helped him to continue with his business operations and in retaining all his workers.

"It was surprising to learn that a government agency has monitored and followed up on how my business was doing until today," he added.

However, although the tourism industry in Langkawi is recovering, he noted that the purchasing power of tourists was not like before the pandemic hit.

Haiza Zakaria, the manager of Hafza Travel and Tours agency, which handles haj and umrah packages, said during the movement control orders, she had participated in the GLOW-PENJANA Programme where she learned about the gig economy.

"The initiative by the government on the gig economy spurred me to do something new and taught me that the business landscape is changing, and so we have to come up with new business strategies," she said on the Bernama TV interview show.

The GLOW-PENJANA Programme is an initiative by the government and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) that offers free courses and online training to qualified individuals for them to generate income through digital jobs.