Budget 2022 to focus on ‘3M’ of recovery, building resilience and stimulating growth post Covid-19
Close to a million SMEs account for 98.5 percent of all business establishments and employ 7.3 million Malaysians in 2020, constituting 48.0 percent of the national employment.
The government’s second M target or resilience building approach meanwhile, is aimed at improving healthcare services and its quality, access to education and learning supports, and strengthening the B40 group, which has since ballooned, with close to 600,000 from the M40 group falling into the lower rung.
Last month Ismail said that around 580,000 households, which were previously in the M40 category, slipped into the B40 group owing to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the nation’s economy.
Budget 2022 would also be focusing on aiding education loan repayments and widening the social net to address various issues in the job market, as well as addressing the mismatch in labour demand and supply.
Financial assistance in the form of cash handouts and subsidies is also to continue, albeit a more targeted approach.
