By Adrian Lim
PUTRAJAYA, Jan 18: The federal government has extended the effective period of inability to perform contractual obligation to March 31, 2021.
Following the expiry of Act 829, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the extension of the period was to assist the B40 and M40 income groups and mirco enterprises who were unable to meet their contractual obligations such as hire purchase or lease contracts and credit sales contracts to fulfil their contractual obligations.
“Last year, the Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Covid-19 Act 2020 or Act 829, was enacted to assist individuals and businesses that were economically impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak.
“This Act came into force on October 23, 2020. The original effective period covering inability to perform contractual obligations under the Act expired on December 31, 2020.
“As such, based on the current situation and the Movement Control Order (MCO) announcement, the government agreed to extend the effective period of inability to perform contractual obligations to March 31, 2020,” Muhyiddin said during a live telecast when announcing the Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) Assistance Package here today.
Muhyiddin disclosed that the Permai Assistance Package has 22 initiatives valued at RM15 billion.
He believed the Permai assistance package together with initiatives announced during Budget 2021 and the economic stimulus packages announced last year will continue to boost consumption for the country’s economy.
On another note, Muhyiddin said the Wage Subsidy Programme under the Social Security Organisation (Sosco) will be enhanced.
He added all employers operating in MCO states will be eligible to apply, irrespective of sector.
“For a period of one month, eligible employers will receive a wage subsidy of RM600 for each of their employees earning less than RM4,000.
“In addition, the wage subsidy limit of 200 employees for each employer will be increased to 500 employees.
“This initiative involves an additional allocation of RM1 billion which is estimated to benefit 250,000 workers employing more than 2.6 million workers,” he added.
Muhyiddin said the government has also agreed to relax the conditions for the Employment Insurance System programme or SIP Prihatin especially for those who lost their jobs during MCO.
He added employees who do not meet the minimum contribution conditions, or whose contract was not extended after having been renewed for at least three times previously, are now eligible to apply for the SIP Prihatin assistance of 30 per cent of their monthly salary for a period of three months. — DayakDaily
