Wage subsidy programme benefits 150,000 companies - Saravanan

PUTRAJAYA:Without the Wage Subsidy Programme (WSP) through the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that 150,000 companies would have gone bankrupt resulting in over million workers losing their jobs.

Human Resource Minister, Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said WSP has helped reduce unemployment in the country as the rate dropped from five per cent in May to 4.7 per cent in July.

"A total of RM11.8 billion out of RM13.8 billion has been disbursed to 300,000 companies in tackling unemployment

"The remaining sum has yet to be disbursed due to certain constraints such as verifying the authenticity of applications, falsification of documents and applicants not completing the forms such as providing their bank details."

Saravanan said this to reporters after an appreciation ceremony for new graduates of the Train-the-Trainer (TTT) certification course by the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF).

The RM13.8 billion allocation for WSP was announced in March to enable employers to sustain businesses and employment.

On Sept 23, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced a further allocation of RM2. 4 billion for the programme to assist companies still affected by the pandemic and to benefit 1.3 million employees.

-- BERNAMA