Gerakan No 2 moots RM500 unemployment benefit for B40

Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong has urged the federal government to pay RM500 to unemployed individuals in the B40 category from now until December.

In a statement today, Oh said although the government had allowed individuals to withdraw RM500 a month from their Employees Provident Fund "account 2", it was not enough.

"If the 'account 2' was emptied out, then the future of (unemployed people) would be affected. They will need money for their children's education and medical bills (in the future)," he said.

The i-Lestari Account 2 Withdrawal Scheme allows depositors to withdraw RM500 a month for a period of 12 months.

This was part of the wider Prihatin stimulus package, which also includes one-time cash handouts ranging from RM500 to RM1,600 for individuals or households with an income of RM4,000 and below.

Oh (above) said many people are now unemployed because of the Covid-19 outbreak, and those in the hospitality, hotel, catering, transport, education and retail industry are hit especially hard.

"Many economists had warned the government to be wary of the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak, but the government did not put in place the right strategy and things are getting worse now.

"Although the Perikatan Nasional government has handled the Covid-19 outbreak well, it is still slow in helping the people. We hope this problem can be resolved soon," he said.

According to the Department of Statistics, unemployment numbers had hit a record high of 778,800 or five percent of the total workforce.

In terms of raw percentages, the unemployment rate has never been this high since 1990. - Mkini