He said the government had nothing to lose if it borrowed RM45 billion from the RM1.3 trillion domestic debt market to help financially troubled companies and Malaysians who face the adverse economic impact of the extended lockdown.
“The Perikatan Nasional government must announce a whole-of-society economic stimulus package that can inject RM45 billion to save jobs, businesses and economic livelihood of Malaysians following the extension of the (MCO).
“Previously, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had announced a RM40 billion Pemerkasa Plus economic stimulus package with only RM5 billion in new funding following the first MCO two weeks from June 1,” said the former finance minister.
Lim said with an estimated RM2.4 billion in daily losses, the total is estimated to be at least RM60 billion, adding that a RM45 billion cash injection into the economy will help to mitigate the situation.
“This cash injection must directly benefit workers and businesses,” he said.
He proposed:
- An increase in monthly welfare payments to RM1,000, including for the unemployed, for the remaining seven months of the year until the completion of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK);
- An automatic extension of the moratorium on bank loan repayments, excluding the T20 category, until the programme is completed by the end of the year. The cost should be borne by the banking industry, which recorded healthy profit after tax of nearly RM23 billion;
- Work hiring incentives over a period of two years, comprising wage incentives of RM500 a month to local employees, and hiring incentives of RM300 a month to employers, creating employment for 300,000 Malaysian workers;
- RM28 billion in the form of financial grants; wage, rental and utility subsidies; loan guarantees and credit extensions for the small and medium enterprises, construction, retail and the crippled tourism industry.
“What is needed to pull out of an economic recession is serial financial aid on a regular basis to save jobs, businesses, and economic livelihood,” Lim said.
“The old method of one-off aid is a financial band aid that will not protect the economic livelihood of ordinary workers and financially distressed Malaysians.
“Financial assistance should not be limited to B40 but also the M40 group to prevent them from slipping down into the B40 group.”