PETALING JAYA: Some of the job losses and shops and businesses closures could have been prevented if Malaysia had been more pro-active and passed a Covid-19 Relief bill before the beginning of the movement control order (MCO), Bangi MP Dr Ong Kian Ming (pix) said today.
Singapore passed its Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 in early April 2020 which provided temporary relief measures for certain contractual obligations which companies could not meet because of the Covid crisis, he pointed out.
“In Malaysia, the legal affairs division in the Prime Minister’s office is only now asking for feedback for a similar bill,” Ong said in a statement today.
“Some lawyers have already argued that such a bill, which can only be debated and passed in both houses of parliament by August and gazetted in September, will be too little too late.”
Secondly, with local transmissions having come down significantly, the government should focus its efforts on having specific plans to revive those sectors most affected by the Covid crisis, the Assistant Political Education Director for the DAP said.
“In the travel and tourism sector for example, the lifting of interstate travel after the 9th of June 2020 would help domestic tourism.
“Re-emphasizing the government’s commitment to the economic stimulus package which was announced by then Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, at the end of February 2020, which includes measures to stimulate the domestic tourism sector including digital vouchers for local travel, would also be somewhat helpful,” he said.
Ong suggested starting negotiations with some countries in Asia Pacific with similarly low community transmission rates to establish special travel channels to bring back some international travellers.
“Singapore, for example, is establishing a fast track travel lane for business travellers and officials from China and are looking to extend this to New Zealand soon. Japan is weighing the lifting of travel restrictions for visitors from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam (but not Malaysia),” he said.
Thirdly, the government should increase its assistance to businesses and individuals beyond the already announced plans. Bank Negara’s allocation for the Special Relief Fund (SRF) should be increased beyond the RM10 billion already allocated, Ong said.
“The Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) assistance should be extended beyond June and be given to those who have lost their jobs and livelihood and are not registered under the EIS. Other financial assistance should be also considered.
“If the loss of employment figures are not taken seriously, any further action by the government may come too late and the increase in unemployment to between 8% and 14% will have serious societal as well as economic implications,” Ong added.
