Lo: State gov’t can ‘do more’ than BKSS 5.0 to help Sarawakians during pandemic

Andrew Lo

KUCHING: Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak Chapter and Sarawak Bank Employees Union (SBEU) believe that the Sarawak government can inject more money into alleviating the sufferings of Sarawakians during this pandemic.

MUTC Sarawak Chapter secretary-general and SBEU chief executive officer Andrew Lo said they welcomed the Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) 5.0 announced on Thursday, but they believed that the state government could do more than the measures announced thus far.

“We believe that more can be done to not only alleviate the sufferings of the people but to stimulate the economy by putting more cash into the economy,” he said in a statement today.

Lo said the Sarawak government should provide wage subsidy to employers in the state to help maintain employment among workers given the federal government’s abject failure to provide much needed support to the private sector.

He said the government should not be spending billions on grandiose projects like the proposed Malaysia-Indonesia border wall and the “absolutely bonkers second highway from Biawak to Lawas”.

He added that these funds could be channelled to implementing Sarawak’s own Wage Subsidy Programme (WSP).

“Grandiose projects including 7G, LRT (light rail transit), second trunk road only put money into selected few contractors who more often than not park the wealth outside Sarawak. Any job creation (from these projects) will be short-term and for thousands of foreign construction workers,” he pointed out.

Lo said workers would benefit directly and have disposal income when cash is made available to employers through WSP.

“This will in turn increase domestic consumption and sustain business in the state,” he added.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg announced the BKSS 5.0 to help Sarawakians cushion the economic impact arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Worth RM405 million, the package contains 11 measures and will be implemented for the first half of this year.

Among the measures are the extension of discounts on utilities, rent and assessment rates; and exemptions on business license and permit fees.

The post Lo: State gov’t can ‘do more’ than BKSS 5.0 to help Sarawakians during pandemic appeared first on Borneo Post Online.

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