Tuesday 10 March 2009

Stimulus package? How does it benefit me?

As a bread winner of the family, I am not sure if I should be happy or disappointed in the newly announced RM 60 billion stimulus package introduced by DPM Najib Razak today. This is because I really do not know how this package will benefit me and my family when I am jobless one day (touch wood).

In order for me to understand or get to know further about of this package, I need to know the breakdowns because that would give me a chance to search for eligibility of certain schemes which may apply to my situation.

It was announced that RM 3 billion for tax incentives -  what are those? RM 10 billion equity investment? RM 15 billion fiscal injections and RM 25 billion guaranteed funds? What are all these? Do you understand? 

Does a RM 800.00 per month worker who was retrenched a few months back understand how he or she will be assisted by the stimulus package? How can the stimulus package get the worker back on his feet? How does it work?

All these information must be easily accessed by all level of people as it involved almost everyone. We need to prepare ourselves for any eventuality. We need to study and understand how this stimulus package works. Like people say, "Sediakan payung sebelum hujan". Not,"Bila nak berak, baru nak korek lubang!"

A few weeks back, it was announced by the Ministry of Human Resource that from 1 Oct 2008 to 18 Feb 2009, a total of 939 employers have retrenched 90,438 local and foreign workers. Local workers took up 77.93% whereas the rest of the pie of 22.07% belongs to foreign workers. MOHR even have a PowerPoint SOP on Managing Retrenchment at its website and even those steps are difficult to apprehend.  

And from what I see in MOHR's SOP of how to Manage Retrenchment, they put a lot emphasis on training, give training to the retrenched, give training to those who are going to be retrenched so that they can be retained and upgrade their skills so that they are "marketable" in the industry. 

So, you want to upgrade the skill of an operator to become a ..............? Supervisor? Manager? Not possible due to gap of education. But what is the use of just training and upgrading skill when no one is hiring.

Don't they get it !


KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 - Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today a RM60 billion stimulus package as he painted a gloomy picture of the Malaysian economy in the face of a global recession.

The whopping sum will be spent over two years as the country faces up to the reality of falling exports and drastically lower revenue.

The package, announced in Parliament today, includes RM3 billion in tax incentives, and will see RM10 billion of equity investments and RM15 billion in fiscal injections, as well as RM25 billion in guaranteed funds.

A total of RM29 billion has been allocated for private sector assistance, while RM5 billion has been set aside for a working capital guarantee scheme to provide capital to companies with an equity of under RM20 million.

A financial guarantee institution will also be established.

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