Alleviating the people’s burden

• Govt to give Aidilfitri Special Financial Assistance of up to RM700 to all civil servants Grade 56 and below, including those on contract, and RM350 to government retirees. Payment will be made in April 2023.
• Govt to give up to 20% discount for three months on PTPTN loan repayment starting March 1.
• Govt to grant a postponement of repayment to borrowers with a monthly income of RM1,800 and below for a six-month period; application for postponement can be made from March 1.
• Govt amending Insolvency Act 1967 to enable bankruptcy cases to be discharged more quickly.
• The amendment, combined with immediate release of cases owing less than RM50,000 starting March 1, will allow 130,000 people to be released from bankruptcy status. This will benefit the Malays, who make up the majority of the 260,000 bankruptcy cases as of January, and will allow them to contribute to the national economy.

 

Sabah and Sarawak

• RM6.5 billion for Sabah’s development; RM5.6 billion for Sarawak. This includes developing cities bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia, such as Kalabakan, Sabah and Ba’kelalan, Sarawak with a cost of RM1 billion.
• Separately, over RM2.5 billion is provided to implement projects, mainly involving public infrastructure for the benefit of Sabah and Sarawak, road projects and street lights, as well as water and electricity supply.

 

Infrastructure

• Govt to review MRT3 project cost, confident of reducing it to below RM45 billion.
• Govt to ensure Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) is managed more transparently and inclusively to achieve full participation by telcos and provide comprehensive 5G coverage at a reasonable price. At end-2022, 5G coverage reached 50% of populated areas; targeted to reach 80% by end-2023.
• To relieve road congestion at tourist hotspots, the govt will:
  * build a new road from Habu to Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands, Pahang for RM480 million;
  * upgrade Jalan Tun Hamzah up to the intersection of Semabok Lebuh AMJ Daerah Melaka Tengah at a cost of RM300 million;
  * build a road and a bridge over Sungai Sepang to connect Bukit Pelandok, Port Dickson and Sungai Pelek, Sepang at a cost of RM160 million; and
  * build an overtaking lane on Senai Desaru Expressway and upgrade Lebuhraya Utara Selatan from Yong Peng Utara to Senai Utara — Phase 1, Johor from four to six lanes, in phases, at a cost of RM525 million.
• Expansion and improvement of airport capacity in Penang and Subang to encourage entry of investors, businesses and tourists; to benefit economic growth at a much lower cost than building a new airport in Kulim, estimated at RM7 billion.
• RM1.2 billion to expedite repairs of 400 clinics and 380 schools that are dilapidated.
• RM1.5 billion to develop new rural roads and village link roads.

 

Encouraging investments & savings

• Total individual investment limit of Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) and Amanah Saham Bumiputera 2 (ASB 2) will be increased to RM300,000 from RM200,000.
• Size of Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) fund will be increased to about RM5 billion.
• 5.1% dividend for ASB members with savings of less than RM30,000, to benefit 87% of members.
• Govt to help those aged 40-54 with EPF savings of less than RM10,000 in their Account 1 by providing an additional contribution of RM500; to benefit nearly two million EPF members with an allocation of nearly RM1 billion.
• From 2024, shariah savings assets under EPF will be fully segregated to provide competitive returns to 1.25 million members holding shariah accounts.
• Agriculture and food security
• Government to promote private sector investment into large-scale agriculture by providing incentives, land, funds and technology grants.
• “Elaun Modal Dipercepatkan” and 100% income tax exemption on capital expenditure will be available, and the tax incentive application period for food production projects will be extended until end-2025, with an expanded scope to include modern agriculture projects.
• Bernas agrees to share 30% of its net profit from rice imports with rice farmers.
• Govt to give various subsidies and incentives amounting to RM1.6 billion to rice farmers. In addition, 240,000 rice farmers will receive RM200 cash per month for three months, or one season, for a total of RM228 million.
• Govt to allocate RM80 million to improve sustainability of palm oil industry and intensify the fight against anti-palm oil campaign.
  Strengthening oversight and institutional reforms; fight corruption
• Govt aims to enact the Consumer Credit Act and set up consumer credit monitoring board to regulate companies providing consumer credit such as “Buy Now Pay Later” schemes this year.
• Procurement Act to be tabled to boost transparency, increase savings.
• Review compensation packages of chief executives and senior management of statutory bodies and companies to more reasonable levels.
• Amend the Whistleblowers Protection Act to better protect informants.
• New management of govt agencies such as Tabung Haji, Felda and Felcra should study possibility of closing loss-making subsidiaries not aligned with their original functions, such as travel agencies, security companies, and IT firms. Govt mulls banning companies and statutory bodies from this practice.
• All govt agencies, including the Inland Revenue Board (“Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri” in Malay, or LHDN in short), the MACC and the police are actively investigating corruption, including those named in the Pandora Papers. LHDN will also continue investigating “unusual wealth” to fight corruption, rather than allow it to continue to fester.

 

Ending hardcore poverty

• RM30 million set aside to increase activities that support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including RM10 million to start community farm programmes at the parliamentary level to promote food security.
• Govt to implement “Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat” (IPR) through the Economy Ministry with RM750 million allocation in 2023, to empower the poor to increase their earning potential.
• Loan facility from Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), BNM and Tekun (National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund) worth RM1.7 billion to help micro entrepreneurs, women and youth.
• BSN to provide over RM1 billion with a focus on micro-entrepreneurs; Tekun to provide RM330 million, including RM10 million to help youths from poor families.
• Disaster preparation, green initiatives & EVs
• Govt to re-tender six flood mitigation projects by June, potentially saving RM2 billion out of RM15 billion previously allocated for such projects.
• BNM to provide financing of up to RM2 billion to support green tech start-ups, help SMEs implement low-carbon practices.
  Khazanah to provide RM150 million to environmentally friendly project development including supporting the carbon market and reforestation.
• Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) to be implemented with increased allocation of RM3 billion until 2025. Scope of funding to be widened to cover electric vehicles (EVs) with a guarantee limit of up to 60%.
• Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd will offer RM1 billion Sustainable Development Scheme.
• Incentive period for Investment Tax Allowance (Gita) and Green Income Tax Exemption (Gite) schemes to be extended until Dec 31, 2025 for eligible green activities.
• Import duty exemption on EV components for local assembly extended to Dec 31, 2027; excise duty and sales tax waiver on locally-assembled completely knocked down (CKD) EVs extended to Dec 31, 2027.
  100% statutory income tax exemption for manufacturers of EV chargers from 2023 to 2032, and a 100% allowance on investment tax for five years.
• Tax breaks for companies leasing EVs, with the lease not exceeding RM300,000.