The government has channelled RM20.107 billion to 357,402 employers through the Wage Subsidy Programme (PSU) to maintain the employment of 2,951,245 local workers in an effort to reduce the unemployment rate among Malaysian workers.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the government would continue the PSU initiative based on total sales or revenue from October 2021 until December 2021 compared to any month in 2019 until 2021 before the outbreak of COVID-19.
He said applications have been open since Jan 1, 2022 until March 31, 2022 but employers from sectors and industrial activities that are not listed but are still affected due to the spread of COVID-19 can still submit an appeal online to SOCSO.
With an allocation of RM600 million, the initiative could potentially benefit more than 26,000 employers and 330,000 employees. Through PSU 4.0, a total of RM2.148 billion has been channelled to 142,539 employers to continue operating and maintain employment for 1,698,999 employees.
Additionally, the government is also committed through various ministries and government agencies to continue its training and skills upgrading efforts for 2022 with a total allocation of RM1.1 billion targeting 220,000 job opportunities.
Among the initiatives that will be implemented are training and skills upgrading under the Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC), Regional Corridor, Perbadanan Hal Ehwal Bekas Angkatan Tentera (PERHEBAT), Ministry of Higher Education, Polytechnic Education Department and Community Colleges and others, he said.
Not leaving micro, small and medium enterprise an allocation RM600 million has been set aside for those still affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“As of Dec 31, there are 701 applications for this funding, and out of this total, 340 applications had been approved with a total funding of RM67.5 million,” he said.
