SHAH ALAM – Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claims Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government had rejected his proposal to introduce another round of a moratorium on loans, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Speaking at the launch of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) manifesto, Muhyiddin, who was the National Recovery Council (NRC) chairman, expressed his bemusement at the government’s reluctance, noting that this would not require any financial commitment.
He noted that a loan moratorium would have only affected financial institutions, which are already making enormous profits each year.
“The government doesn’t have to fork out a single ringgit. If they want (to introduce) it, the banks will be the ones implementing the loan moratorium. It doesn’t involve public funds.
“In the few months when we reopened our economy, the banks declared their profits, and they made a lot of money. A loan moratorium would not have affected their financial performance anyway.”
Muhyiddin said this in response to a question from the floor, asking what guarantee the PN coalition provides that its manifesto can be implemented in full, considering the projected recession next year.
The Bersatu president admitted that there will be some challenges in managing the economy next year, as predicted by the World Bank, but noted that this is why PN has made the stimulation of the economy its top priority should it win the election.
“Our priority is to manage this issue. I have mentioned in many meetings and ceramah that if we come into power, we promise to discuss the economy in our first cabinet meeting.
“We need to identify what we need to do to mitigate the effect of the economic depression so that the country can recover. That is our priority.”
Earlier in announcing the manifesto, Muhyiddin said that PN vows to implement the second round of loan moratorium to assist SMEs if it returns to Putrajaya.
During his stint as prime minister, Muhyiddin announced the first round on June 28, 2021, which took effect for six months beginning July 2021, as part of the government’s efforts to assist the public and small businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In September this year, acting in his capacity as the NRC chairman, Muhyiddin had urged the Ismail Sabri administration to offer further loan moratoriums for SMEs, amid hikes in the overnight policy rate.
Ismail had then responded by saying the government had yet to make a decision on the matter as further deliberations on the matter were needed. – The Vibes, November 7, 2022
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