Budget hotels want review of amount allocated under Permai programme

By Farah Solhi

January 19, 2021 @ 10:02am

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA) wants the government to review an initiative under the Permai assistance package.

Its deputy president, Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel said the amount of financial assistance allocated for employees under the Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0 needed to reviewed.

"We are thankful to the government for providing assistance under the fifth stimulus package to support business continuity during this Covid-19 pandemic.

"Among the initiatives that we are thankful for is the continuation of electricity bill rebate for all Malaysians from January until March 2021 and the extension of the loan moratorium.

"We are also thankful for the assistance allocated under the Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0, to take flight under the Social Security Organisation (Socso) for all employers, irrespective of sectors, that operate within states affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO).

"However, we are requesting for the government to review the financial assistance allocated for each employee under this initiative.

"We are proposing, that instead of allocating RM600 for each employee who earns less than RM4,000 a month, the amount should be RM1,200 for a reasonable period.

"This will help the industry players to sustain themselves during this tough time as they will need a longer period of time to recover even after the Covid-19 pandemic has been successfully controlled.

"We are also suggesting for the government to allow permanent or automatic instructions for moratorium assistance by banks, as well as credit companies and tax incentives in ensuring the industry's sustainability during this pandemic," he said in a statement, today.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled the fifth assistance package with 22 initiatives aimed at fighting Covid-19, safeguarding the people's welfare and supporting the business community.