KUALA LUMPUR:Twenty-five opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) have urged the government to implement another six months of automatic loan moratorium to help businesses and individuals mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a joint statement today, the MPs said the loan repayment moratorium would help improve cash flow and save jobs during the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0, as had happened under the first MCO in March last year.

"With this, Individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will have more cash at their disposal, which in turn will help to improve the bottom line for all businesses, encouraging them to keep and maybe increase employment (instead of cutting jobs) as they work through this pandemic,” they said.

They said SMEs and individuals which are not affected can continue with their existing loan repayment.

The MPs also suggested that the Social Security Organisation (Socso) increase its wage subsidy of RM600 per worker for those earning below RM4,000 and extend it for at least 6 months.

"Six months of wage subsidy will greatly encourage employers not to resort to cutting jobs and help carry them through half of this year as they face reduced sales and cash flow,” the statement said.

Among the MPs who signed the statement were Darell Leiking (Penampang), Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar), Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman (Sepanggar), Hannah Yeoh (Segambut), Yeo Bee Yin (Bakri), Baru Bian (Selangau), Datuk Rozman Isli (Labuan) and Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub (Pulai).

-- BERNAMA