'Government efficient in disbursing aid'

By FARAH ADILLA and AZANIS SHAHILA AMAN - January 28, 2021 @ 9:10am

KUALA LUMPUR: Government initiatives by the Perikatan Nasional government such as i-Sinar, Bantuan Prihatin Nasional 2.0 (BPN 2.0) and other financial programmes will help Malaysians and businesses cope with the economic impact brought about by Covid-19, say economists.

Putra Business School business development manager Associate Professor Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff lauded, for instance, the efficiency of the government in disbursing BPN 2.0 to the majority of recipients.

All direct fiscal injections would bring about immediate improvement to the livelihoods of those affected, he said.

Razman said the weekly status report by the The Economic Stimulus Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) unit should also be praised as this would assure people that the government was fulfilling its promises to help affected groups.

"It is hoped that Laksana will continue to update the recipients database and improve on the process of disbursement, especially for those without bank accounts.

"Laksana should be ready to advise the government if there is a need to increase the amount allocated for these initiatives considering the potential negative impact on the economy when the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0 was implemented on Jan 13," he said.

Razman said more updates were needed to see the progress of the RM3.7 billion allocated under the job creation programme.

"Updates need to be done to see how the government created new jobs since the unemployment data has shown an increase in unemployment for October and November 2020," he added.

Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the execution of the programme under Laksana had been decent and the government had demostrated its commitment and resolve to support the rakyat's economic well-being by increasing allocations.

"For instance, the Wage Subsidy Programme and Geran Khas Prihatin (GKP) have been extended to help the business community," he said.

However, Afzanizam said while it was good to have updates via social and conventional media, the government should also go to the grassroots and explain to ensure the people understood the rationale of the assistance programme.

"The government needs to emphasise its communication to the masses. This is to avoid confusion and misunderstanding, which could compromise the confidence among the masses.

"Perhaps having a regular session between the government with teachers, for instance, could disseminate the information to the rakyat as they are considered close touchpoints with the grassroots (students and parents)," he said.

The government recently unveiled the RM15 billion Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) aid package containing 22 initiatives.

The Permai aid package is the fifth initiative implemented by the government to help the people and protect the economy since the MCO was first implemented in March.

The government previously implemented the RM250 billion Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin) in March and the RM10 billion Additional Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin Tambahan) in April.

It unveiled the RM35 billion National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) in June and the RM10 billion Prihatin Supplementary Initiative Package (KITA Prihatin) in September.