It’s been one year since Malaysia has been fighting COVID-19. But because of the economic slowdown which happened starting from MCO 1.0, many Malaysians are still facing financial difficulties. 

So, on 17 March 2021, the Prime Minister announced a new stimulus package, People and Economic Strategic Empowerment Programme (Pemerkasa) to help us get back on our feet.

Want to know what you can get? We’ve rounded up the Pemerkasa assistance for individuals:

The government also announced the following assistance and subsidies under the Pemerkasa programme for all Malaysians:

• If you’re a frontliner working at the country’s COVID-19 vaccination centres, you’ll get a RM250 monthly allowance.
• If you’re a disabled person affected by the pandemic, your monthly disabled workers’ allowance will increase to RM1,500 from RM1,200.
• If you’re a bankrupt and qualify for aid, you’ll be allowed to open a bank account online to get the assistance. The cash aid you get won’t be deducted to pay for your monthly debt payments.
• Expansion of mobile clinic services at Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) and public housing nationwide.
• The price of petrol will be fixed at RM2.05 per litre for RON95 petrol and RM2.15 per litre for diesel.

Apart from assistance for individuals, the government will also give aid to other groups like SMEs. To read the full list of government aid offered, you can check out the Prime Minister’s speech here.

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Need help planning your budget? Try using our budget calculator or read our guide on planning a budget.

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