Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today announced the improved wage subsidy programme 3.0 under the Social Security Organisation (Socso) for which all employers operating in states under a movement control order (MCO) will be eligible, irrespective of sector.
In a special announcement today, Muhyiddin said for a period of one month, eligible employers will receive a wage subsidy of RM600 for each of their employees earning less than RM4,000.
“In addition, the wage subsidy limit of 200 employees for each employer will be increased to 500 employees.
“This initiative involves an additional allocation of RM1 billion which is estimated to benefit 250,000 workers employing more than 2.6 million workers,” he said in his announcement.
For a related initiative, Muhyiddin said the government will also relax conditions for the Employment Insurance System programme, or SIP Prihatin, for those who lost their jobs during MCO.
Muhyiddin also acknowledged the contribution of delivery riders during this MCO period.
He said the government has allocated RM24 million to fund their full contribution under Socso’s Self-Employment Social Security Scheme.
“To date, almost 32,000 applications from delivery riders have been received under the scheme,” he said.
To help those affected by the MCO, Muhyiddin also said the government has agreed to extend the period of the Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Covid-19 Act 2020, or Act 829.
He said the original period covering the inability to perform contractual obligations under the Act expired on December 31, 2020.
“As such, based on the current situation and the MCO announcement, the government has agreed to extend the effective period of the inability to perform contractual obligations to March 31, 2021.
“This includes hire purchase or lease contracts and credit sales contracts which benefit groups such as the B40 and M40 as well as micro-enterprises who are unable to meet their contractual obligations.
Recently, Muhyiddin announced an additional stimulus package worth in excess of RM15 billion under the name of The Malaysian Economic and Rakyat Protection Assistance Package, or Permai.
The package includes 22 new initiatives that Muhyiddin said will put money in people’s pockets and ensure the survival of businesses. – MALAY MAIL
