“Many complaints have been received on the weak state of the economy and poor business sentiment, as well as rising prices,” the former finance minister said in a statement today.

Lim said the reality for all Malaysians is that prices of goods are rising, especially for food.

“The statistics department reported that annual inflation rose by 2.5% in 2021 compared with the 1.2% deflation experienced in 2020.

“It also reported that the consumer price index (CPI) for December 2021 shot up to 3.2%, surpassing the average monthly CPI inflation rate over the past decade (2011-2021) of 1.9%,” he said.

Lim added that the statistics department admitted the rise in CPI was partly driven by higher prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, particularly chicken, cooking oil and vegetables.

“Therefore, an extension of the bank loan moratorium and interest rate waivers by six months will help to save lives and livelihoods.

“The banking industry can afford to carry the burden. This is based on their estimated record RM20 billion in profit after taxes for 2021 despite bearing the cost of the previous interest rate waivers and bank loan moratorium,” he said.

Additionally, the government will also attempt to negotiate with banks for an interest exemption for the bottom 50% (B50) of income earners who took the loan moratorium from October to December last year.