Gov’t to allocate RM75 million to stimulate gig economy

The government is set to allocate RM75 million to help stimulate the gig economy in the country, says Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

In addition, he said RM50 million in matching grants would be allocated to the gig economy platforms who contribute for their gig workers towards the Social Security Organisation's (Socso) employment injury scheme and the Employees Provident Fund's (EPF) i-Saraan scheme.

"In an effort to encourage freelancing, the MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation) will be provided with RM25 million for the Global Online Workforce (Glow) programme," he said when presenting the short-term National Economic Recovery Plan that was broadcast live on local television stations today.

The gig economy is a short-term contract-based labour market or freelance work done by individuals driven by digital technology.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said the government and the private sector would co-finance the effort to encourage micro-enterprises as well as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to shift towards digitalisation through matching grants totalling RM140 million.

"The allocation will be used for MDEC-led training, subsidies and sales assistance sessions with selected e-commerce platforms," he said.

- Bernama