A total of 800,000 civil servants will join Malaysian ministers and their deputies in contributing to the country’s COVID-19 financial aid.
Civil servants will contribute various portions of their allowance, depending on their pay grades, for three months. This is in addition to the contribution expected from ministers and their deputies as announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last night, when he revealed the Pemerkasa (Empower) Plus COVID-19 relief package worth RM40 billion (about US$10 billion) that include financial and loan assistance for lower-income households and businesses affected by the total lockdown, respectively.
“The contribution is a mark of togetherness to support the government in fighting COVID-19,” chief secretary Mohd Zuki Ali told reporters today, a day after Muhyiddin’s live national address. Malaysia entered a total lockdown today through to June 14.
Top-level civil servants, categorized as Grade A, will contribute 50%, while those at Grade 29 to 41 will contribute RM10 each. Their total contribution is expected to hit about RM30 million, Zuki said.
Muhyiddin said yesterday that the ministers and their deputies’ salaries for June to August will be contributed to the Disaster Trust Fund for COVID-19 related expenses. Excluding allowances, the prime minister is said to earn about RM23,000 (US$5,500) while his deputy takes home around RM18,000, under the Members of Parliament Act. Cabinet ministers are said to earn about RM15,000 a month.
As part of the Pemerkasa Plus package, households earning below RM2,500 would receive additional financial aid worth RM500, while those earning between RM2,501 and RM5,000 would get RM300. Singles will receive RM100, which will be credited to their bank accounts at the end of June.
Following discussions with the bank, the prime minister said that banks would still commit to providing loan repayment assistance. A loan moratorium will be implemented in June.
The B40 group, made up of Malaysia’s low-income households, as well as those who have lost their jobs or cannot operate their businesses because of the lockdown will be given the option to seek this assistance.
Malaysia entered a total lockdown today till June 14. The country has recorded 572,357 cases and 2,796 deaths since the outbreak started last year, hitting a record 9,020 cases on May 29.
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