LETTER: The 2021 Budget is a reflection of the government's efforts to support vulnerable groups, especially youths, who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some of the initiatives that were revealed during its tabling need to be improved as they missed out certain groups.
For instance, findings from EMIR Research's focus group discussion in July involving youths revealed that students at tertiary institutes found it hard to sustain their living due to lack of funds for their daily expenses.
The government's cash assistance programme for underprivileged university students helps them to cover their living expenses, which in turn will allow them to focus on their studies. In the first Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package worth RM250 billion, there was a one-off cash aid worth RM200 for higher education students. Despite these, more could be done to help these students.
Although the 2021 Budget stated that youths in the Bottom 40 families would receive a monthly welfare aid from the Social Welfare Department, only a small number of them would qualify as only those aged below 19 are eligible for it.
What about those aged above 18 who are studying at universities but have no income? They are also in the B40 group. Some students from Middle 40 families may also face the same hardship. Perhaps the government could consider distributing another round of cash aid of RM200 to RM300 for these students.
This allocation will be timely as the Conditional Movement Control Order has been extended until Dec 6. Students who continue to study at home will need to buy learning materials.
The RM50 e-wallet credit announced for youths seems to be limited in coverage as it is only for those aged 18 to 20. The population of youth using e-wallet for their daily expenses accounts for more than that.
Therefore, I hope that the government can consider increasing the allocation for the eBelia programme to provide e-wallet credits to a larger population of youths. As mentioned by the finance minister during the budget speech, "youths play important roles as pioneers and consumers in adopting the latest technology".
Although the government is tackling youth unemployment via the budget, the initiative to address underemployment is limited to sectors with a high reliance on foreign workers.
These sectors were given a special incentive where 60 per cent of the monthly salary would be provided, in which 40 per cent would be channelled to employers while 20 per cent would be channelled as a wage top-up to the local worker replacing the foreign worker.
What about the other sectors that are not highly-dependent on foreign workers, in which their workforce consist of underpaid youths with high qualifications? During this pandemic, everyone is trying their best to survive, so are youths. Thus the urgent need to realise these proposals.
SOFEA AZAHAR
EMIR Research
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times