Muhyiddin (middle) flanked by (from left) Masa CEO Azril Mohd Amin, NRC CEO Tan Sri Dr Sulaiman Mahbob, NRC strategic research head Dr Abdul Khalid Hamid and Masa research analyst Mohd Noor Musa at the National Recovery and Social Inclusivity seminar in Putrajaya on Oct 13.
PETALING JAYA: While Malaysians have learnt to live with Covid-19, the scarring of the pandemic has altered the economy and the people’s livelihoods.
To help the country build back better, the National Recovery Council (NRC) has proposed several policy responses that can shape and drive the country’s recovery.
This includes creating a centralised aid distribution system to strengthen the social security net and providing another round of loan moratoriums to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) recover their financial flow.
For years, single mother Marcella Mijoh, has been receiving a monthly stipend from the government for her 23-year-old son who is living with a disability.
The proposal by the NRC for the creation of a centralised system to ease the process of distributing aid and prevent eligible recipients from being left out of receiving government assistance, is timely, she said.
Muhyiddin speaking to reporters after the National Recovery and Social Inclusivity seminar in Putrajaya on Oct 13.
“Any aid distribution should be done accordingly so that those who are in need will be able to benefit,” said Marcella, 63.
The mother of four, who resides in Penampang, Sabah, said the proposal is good as it will streamline the process.
In the future, Marcella hopes to continue receiving aid for her son, as well as more support for single mothers like herself who are unable to work.
“I hope the government can also give more attention to single mothers, especially those who are not working. The disabled should also be given more focus and assistance,” she said.
Recently, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as chairman of the NRC said an integrated specialised system which encompasses various government agencies should be developed to effectively channel aid to vulnerable groups in this country.
He said by integrating eligible recipient data from all agencies in a single system, the aid distribution process, including subsidies can be coordinated and distributed transparently and efficiently as quickly as possible to the target groups.
Such an integrated system can also detect all forms of benefits that Malaysians deserve throughout their lives, via cross-agency data.
Muhyiddin, who is also former prime minister, added that the proposal must be considered as the number of the hardcore poor had increased significantly due to the pandemic.
According to the e-Kasih data, heads of households categorised as hardcore poor had increased to almost 145,000 compared to 45,000 in 2020.
Around 600,0000 M40 households have also fallen into the poor category, which contributed to an expansion of the B40 into the B60 group.
He said this during the national seminar on National Recovery and Social Inclusivity co-organised by the NRC and independent think-tank, Institut Masa Depan Malaysia (Masa) in Putrajaya on Oct 13.
Trader Mahathir Kamaruddin, 46, also viewed the proposal as a good initiative, saying that the creation of such a database would reduce bureaucracy and ease the aid distribution process.
“It’s a good idea. I hope the system will also be updated to reflect the real number of deserving aid recipients and make the process easier for us as it can get complicated with many different government agencies and ministries involved,” he said.
Mahathir, who was one of the some 100,000 Malaysians who became jobless during the pandemic in 2020, said that it was the aid provided by the government that helped him rebound from his financial hardship.
He had been a lorry driver for 20 years when the pandemic saw him and his colleagues being laid off.
“It was a very challenging time when I was jobless and we were in deep financial hardship as I have six children between the ages of two and 15, plus a wife, to support.
“But due to initiatives such as i-Sinar, I got to withdraw my EPF (Employees Provident Fund) savings for my family’s survival while the special payouts announced in the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih), and other aid packages also helped families like mine to get back on our feet,” he said.
Mahathir said he even managed to use some of the financial assistance to open up a roadside stall selling cold beverages with his wife.
“That’s why effective aid distribution is important. It can change lives when it is done right and effectively,” he said.
Muhyiddin had also recently proposed banking institutions to consider offering another loan payment moratorium to MSMEs, which drive nearly 96% of the country’s economic activities.
He had said that some of the businesses were still struggling to get back on their feet after suffering losses of between 30% and 40% during the pandemic, with some having even gone out of business.
Muyhiddin said the NRC had discussed the matter three times and had given its proposal to the government as among the ways the government could help MSMEs strengthen their cash flow.
SME Association of Malaysia president Ding Hong Sing said another round of loan moratorium is important, especially as many SMEs are struggling to recover following Covid-19 and needed more financial help.
“SMEs are still facing a very tight cash flow. Many businesses are still struggling to survive, much less recover, with the weak ringgit and the critical labour crunch.
“I’m thankful to the former prime minister for suggesting another loan moratorium for SMEs and hope this can be expedited by the new government,” he said.
Ding, however, expressed hope that the bureaucratic process be eased if the banks go through with the suggestion by the NRC to offer another loan moratorium.
“The paperwork and the process should be simplified as much as possible so that those eligible can get the help needed,” he said.
Cafe owner Jeremy Lee, 45, agrees that another moratorium is necessary to provide financial relief to businesses that are currently economically disadvantaged.
He said that business owners who could afford to service their loans should continue to pay while banks should help those in the business community who really need it.
“That way, cash can flow. The economic recovery will take time and small business owners like ourselves will continue to need help,” he said.
Bank Negara had introduced a six-month moratorium for all individuals and MSMEs in July last year, in line with the Pemulih package.
Lee recalled how this had helped his own business survive after he had to let go two of his staffers due to financial difficulties.
Besides an integrated aid distribution system and another loan moratorium for MSMEs, the NRC had also submitted other recommendations for the government to drive the country’s recovery.
The National Recovery and Social Inclusivity seminar on Oct 13 in Putrajaya had presented 12 research papers, covering issues including situational poverty, education of the B40 group, aspects of sustainable urban planning for the B40 group, regional inclusion especially in Sabah and Sarawak, social enterprise models for MSMEs, green economic potential, food security as well as empowerment of the ecotourism sector.
The resolutions called for the government to implement 11 agendas to immediately restore the country by emphasising on the aspects of social inclusion and dignity.
Among them include focusing on the aspects of quantity and quality of education, accelerating the business sector, introducing incentives for the digital readiness of MSMEs to increase their productivity and immediately identifying investments that focus on foreign direct investments (FDI) and domestic direct investments (DDI).
The government is also urged to improve skills through incentives to employers who send employees for skill improvements (upskilling and reskilling), immediately resolve the country’s socioeconomic issues, especially in reducing the development gap in Sabah and Sarawak and improve basic infrastructure and access to health services especially in the rural and interior areas of Sabah and Sarawak.
The government is also asked to concentrate on the “structural change” aspect including in terms of more equitable distribution of allocations for Sabah and Sarawak, deal with food security issues and increase economic development based on renewable energy and green economic goals.
The country’s recovery can also be driven with the government identifying new shifts in the economy that are appropriate according to local patterns by devising effective strategies such as waqf instruments, zakat and infaq, without following or adapting foreign models that are difficult to practice in Malaysia.
The seminar acknowledged that a holistic and inclusive approach needs to be taken in driving the recovery of the country as well as strengthening the aspects of social inclusion.
This step is important to address income and socioeconomic disparities across regions in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV) 2030.
