KUALA LUMPUR – A total of RM567.9 million of ePenjana credit has been spent by 11.36 million Malaysians throughout the period from July to September this year.
“This means RM567.9 million has been spent by Malaysians through their e-wallets to stimulate the economy,” said Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz in a Facebook Live session today.
He was sharing the report on the implementation of the Prihatin and Penjana simulus packages so far.
To recap, the ePenjana incentive is open to Malaysians aged 18 and above with an annual income of below RM100,000, and can only be redeemed once through an e-wallet of their choice – namely Boost, Touch ‘n Go eWallet or GrabPay.
They must register and download the MySejahtera app in order to redeem RM50 from July 31, and must use the RM50 by Sept 30.
Besides that, he said as of October 2, a total of RM66.4 million has been channelled, benefitting 221,345 recipients consisting of registered persons with disabilities, single mothers and volunteers from the Home Help Services Programme.
He also said a total of 61,339 individuals have obtained approval in the reskilling and upskilling programme.
“A total of 48,617 employees have managed to secure jobs through the hiring incentive programme and training assistance. This is an increase from 439,98 last week,” he added.
Tengku Zafrul said RM11.967 billion in wage subsidies have been approved to benefit more than 322,022 employers, as well as more than 2.6 million employees under the wage subsidy programme introduced by the government.
“For everyone's information, Socso is working with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) regarding 30 cases of false wage subsidy programme claims by employers. The government will not compromise in taking action against any employer who tries to make a claim but does not channel this subsidy to their employees,” he said.
He also noted that the unemployment rate from the Statistics Department of Malaysia remains at 4.7%, but the number has dropped from 745,100 unemployed in July to 741,600 in August.
“There is also some feedback that will be used by the government in framing comprehensive and wholesome steps under the 2021 Budget,” he said.
Some of the feedback includes increasing support for mental health services, facilitating access to assistance for vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, strengthening the role of government-linked companies in supporting the community, enhancing the role of social enterprise, and increasing job opportunities. - The Vibes, October 14, 2020
