Don't wait for people to lose jobs, extend moratorium for all - Guan Eng
Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng has urged the government to extend the loan moratorium to all borrowers and not just those who have lost their jobs or have had wage cuts.
He said this is because ending the moratorium in September could lead to struggling small and medium enterprises to either cut jobs or close shop and result in even more people being unemployed.
Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng has urged the government to extend the loan moratorium to all borrowers and not just those who have lost their jobs or have had wage cuts.
He said this is because ending the moratorium in September could lead to struggling small and medium enterprises to either cut jobs or close shop and result in even more people being unemployed.
"I urge the government to extend the moratorium to (all) bank borrowers, to help businesses save jobs that will be lost.
"Help the people before they lose their jobs or have their wages cut," he said in a Facebook video today.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced targeted aid for borrowers, including a three-month moratorium extension for those who lost their jobs, and reduced repayment for those with wage cuts.
Meanwhile, banks will also offer various relief options to struggling small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including only paying the interest portion of loan repayment for a certain period, or extending the loan period to reduce the monthly quantum, among others.
Lim, however, said it would not be difficult to extend the moratorium for all borrowers by six months.
He said the additional RM6.4 billion cost of doubling the moratorium period, could still be borne by banks who earned RM31 billion in profits last year.
Alternatively, he said the government can also afford to bear the additional cost.
"If the government says it spent RM295 billion on the Prihatin programme, what is RM6.4 billion that can help eight million Malaysians and hundreds of thousands of SMEs," he said.
