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:

Who can get government assistance under Pemerkasa?	B40 individuals aged 21-60 years	Youth aged 18-20 years and students of higher education institutions
What can you get from Pemerkasa?	If you lost your income: One-off payment of RM500 If you’re a Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) recipient earning RM1,000 and below, you can also get: An extra RM500 RM300 subsidy to buy smartphones or gadgets if you have school-going children If you’re COVID-19 positive and need to be quarantined at home: RM50 a day for up to 14 days (You’ll need to get confirmation from a medical officer)	One-off RM150 credit for your e-wallet
How do you apply for Pemerkasa assistance?	You’ll automatically get the assistance if you’re registered with LHDN, EPF or SOCSO.	To be announced
When will you get Pemerkasa assistance?	Smartphone subsidy: From May 2021 Cash aid: From June 2021	From June 2021

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.