KUALA LUMPUR: The government's RM35 billion short-term National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) approaches the gradual reopening of the economy in a careful and coordinated manner, a think tank said.
EMIR Research, in a statement yesterday, said the plan, announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin last week, also acknowledged the sense of urgency to push through the necessary changes as Malaysia navigated its way towards a post-Covid-19 world.
It said Penjana was timely as it introduced measures to arrest the increase in unemployment and business closures, ease cash flow for businesses and drive consumption and digitalisation.
"Penjana epitomises the next concrete step the Muhyiddin administration is taking as part of the overall strategy in the economic recovery phase," it said.
EMIR Research said the Penjana package addressed the rising concern of unemployment with the three-month extension and coverage expansion of the Wage Subsidy Programme (WSP).
"The WSP could also be used to cover unpaid leave in tourism businesses, which have been badly affected by the crisis.
"Looking forward, perhaps the WSP can be extended as part of the medium-term recovery plan to accompany the gradual reopening of the economy."
It added that the recovery plan also reflected the government's proactive measures at preempting unemployment levels with the upgrading of the National Employment Services Job Portal, hiring and training incentives for the unemployed and youth, as well as programmes for reskilling and upskilling workers.
The government also gave serious attention to supporting the growth of the gig economy, which accounted for 25.3 per cent of total employment in Malaysia, by providing matching grant allocations and an allocation to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp for the Global Online Workforce programme, it said.
Additionally, EMIR Research said, the Penjana microfinancing scheme would spur the creation of more micro-enterprises, which were crucial to promote entrepreneurship, thus boosting employment in the country.
"The Bumiputera Relief Financing is also consistent with the reality that small- and medium-scale enterprises are the leading employers in the country."
It added that the move to provide e-wallet credits worth RM50 and the launch of the "Shop Malaysia Online" campaign were expected to spur online consumption while providing convenience for consumers.
"Perhaps the government's direct cash assistance, Bantuan Prihatin Nasional, can be extended beyond June to continue supporting low- to middle-income households in driving consumption." -- Bernama