KUCHING – The Sarawak government today announced the seventh package of Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS 7.0) involving an allocation of RM800 million to empower enterprises and business activities in the state.
Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg said the aid, divided into three measures, will help businesses following the gradual reopening of the state’s economic sectors through the National Recovery Plan.
Under the first measure, the state government will provide a special one-off financial assistance of RM10,000 for active businesses in Sarawak registered with the Social Security Organisation as of December 31, 2020.
“This measure will help ease the financial burden of approximately 40,000 active businesses in Sarawak, and will cost the government a direct expenditure of more than RM400 million.
“This special financial assistance will be paid in two tranches, RM5,000 in September and the remaining RM5,000 in December 2021,” he said in a press conference here.
Under the second measure, government procurement policies will be eased to support businesses in the construction sector, he added.
He said projects with scheduled completion dates falling within the movement control order (MCO) period will be granted an automatic extension of time (EOT) for up to 60 days.
“If the EOT has been granted, liquidated and ascertained damages already imposed shall be waived during the gazetted MCO period,” he added.
Abang Johari said the third support measure of BKSS 7.0 would allow relaxations in the renewal of employment permits for foreign workers in all sectors to ensure economic resilience.
“As such, the renewal of employment permits with the validity of labour licence for the plantation sector until December 31, 2022 during Covid-19 will be extended to all sectors, namely agriculture, mining, construction, and services,” he added. – Bernama, August 4, 2021
