The announcement was made by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as part of the Pakej Rangsangan Ekonomi Prihatin Rakyat or PRIHATIN.
PRIHATIN's benefits amount to RM250bil.
So what's in it for me, we hear you say?
We've highlighted some of the key announcements made.
PRIHATIN a welcome aid for the economy
- Freeeeeeee internet to all telecommunications customers starting 1 April 2020 and this will last throughout the Movement Control Oder (MCO) period.
- Staggered discounts of between 15% to 50% for electricity bills for six months starting April 2020.
- COVID-19 screen tests coverage of up to RM300 by the insurance and takaful industry. This applies to policyholders directed by the Ministry of Health to conduct their COVID-19 tests at private hospitals or labs.
- Better healthcare facilities for us as an additional allocation of RM1bil was also provided for MOH to purchase medical equipment and related material to combat COVID-19.
Subsidies and other forms of monetary aid for the people
Various monetary aid and subsidies were also announced by the Prime Minister. They include:
- RM800 for singles aged 21 and above earning less than RM2,000 a month.
- RM500 for singles aged 21 and above earning between RM2,001 to RM4,000 monthly.
- RM1,600 for those with a household income on less than RM4,000 a month.
- RM1,000 for those with a household income between RM4,001 to RM8,000.
- RM200 each for students currently at university and other higher learning institutions.
- RM500 each for over 850,000 retired civil servants.
- RM500 each for over 1.5mil government servants including contract workers under Grade 56 and below.
- RM500 each for e-hailing drivers
Frontliners provided special allowance
Muhyiddin also announced that special allowances would be given to medical officials and uniformed officers including our abang polis, officials from the army, RELA and other bodies on duty during the MCO.
Doctors will be given an allowance of RM600 each starting April while the uniformed officers will be given an allowance of RM200 each.
Efforts meant to help those most in need during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Muhyiddin said that the PRIHATIN package was meant to provide immediate aid and reduce the burden felt by the people due to the outbreak.If you'd like to know the finer details of PRIHATIN, we've attached the Prime Minister's full speech here as well.
Hopefully, the announced initiatives can help you in one way or another.