By Chester Tay
The Malaysian government has announced an additional relief package of 15 billion ringgit ($3.72 billion) to cushion the economic impact of the most recent lockdown to contain the worsening Covid-19 situation.
The new package aims to complement and accelerate the government's existing initiatives, which include cash handouts to the poor and healthcare front-liners, wage subsidies to sustain jobs and tax exemptions, said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
These additional funds will also finance health agencies' procurement of supplies to contain the domestic transmission of the coronavirus, with daily new cases hitting a record high of over 4,000 cases last week, the premier said.
The latest stimulus is in addition to the government's previous direct fiscal injection of MYR55 billion since the outbreak began in the country.
Write to Chester Tay at chester.tay@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-18-21 0356ET
