By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, Jan 13: The National Union of the Bank Employees (NUBE) has urged the government to disburse the financial aid to the B40 and M40 income groups quickly.
NUBE secretary-general J Solomon in a press statement today said many self-employed and low-income workers from the B40 category will be struggling during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period as most were daily paid.
“The priority for the government now is to ensure no Malaysian starves or is left out during these times.
“Quick cash aid must be given out and not take days to announce and implement as life is really tough for the B40 workers.
“Like during the first MCO, some of the stimulus packages was not executed fairly to the target group.
“This should not be the case as the government has enough reserves to ensure aid reaches the group that deserves it, as soon as possible and it should not be seen to enrich anyone in authority.
“The government must (also) provide aid to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who are unable to sustain during this period to pay the workers their wages,” he said.
Solomon, who is also the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general said the government should also urge big corporations which have generated large profits to assist the B40, M40 groups and SMEs.
He hoped that the distribution of financial aid by the government can be conducted in a transparent and fair manner.
Solomon opined that an independent committee should be formed from the public with no political attachment to ensure and oversee the financial aid from the government is implemented for its intended purpose.
At the same time, Solomon said NUBE supported the government’s move for the declaration of an emergency to fight Covid-19. —DayakDaily
