Its president Marimuthu Nadason said Fomca had reached out to Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) numerous times to step in to protect the poor and vulnerable who applied for the targeted moratorium but to no avail.

He added that the ongoing movement control order (MCO), despite its looser restrictions on economic sectors, still saw firms barely covering their expenses although they are allowed to open, thus affecting workers.

“They have lost their jobs or have had their incomes severely reduced. Government wage support has been minimal while those from the informal sector have not received any significant support. Yet, they still have their families to maintain.

“On the other hand, due to poor food security measures by the government, food prices have risen exorbitantly. The price of essentials such as vegetables, fish and dry food have risen substantially, causing immense suffering on the rakyat.

“Given this situation and with no government support to face these challenges, one minimal action that the government can take is to extend the moratorium for all those affected by the pandemic,” he said in a statement.

Marimuthu also said poor and vulnerable families with schoolgoing children now had to fork out more money to ensure their kids could continue attending lessons online.

“The so-called free laptops have not arrived, severely affecting the ability of children from low-income families to keep up with their studies.”

He said deferring all repayments for bank loans would give some breathing space for those who were recently laid off or saw their wages slashed.