Speaking during a townhall session on the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV), he said he had met Bank Negara governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, who had told him 98% of those who were eligible for the moratorium had already received the assistance.

“However, I feel that perhaps those who did not get it may need some extra help.

“For that, I ask the banks to reduce the pressure on them and consider helping them,” he said.

Muhyiddin was responding to a question on how the government planned to help small businesses that were struggling during the Covid-19 pandemic beyond the short-term economic stimulus packages.

He said he was worried that although financial assistance had been extended through the various schemes, many still felt that this was inadequate, especially for the months to come going into 2021.

On a separate issue, he said the fisheries industry, especially deep-sea fishing, was still unexplored in Malaysia.

“I think many fishermen are still afraid of venturing out into the deep sea to fish for tuna. That results in other people stealing our fish to take back to their countries.

“The core question is, why aren’t we developing that industry? We have tried but it is not quite successful.”

He said the country’s fishing industry in shallower waters was also dominated by people from Thailand and Vietnam.

“There are locals, but limited to being licence-holders. Not many are developing the industry.

“That is something we need to study to see why this is happening.”

When asked about the socioeconomic issues faced by women and families in urban poor households, Muhyiddin said there was a need to increase the participation of women in decision-making roles.

“We want to increase the percentage of participation for women in the development of the country, especially in decision-making matters. We already have policies from way back.”