KUALA LUMPUR (June 5): Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today announced that the government will allocate an additional RM5.3 billion in order to extend the wage subsidy programme.  

Under the wage subsidy programme, eligible employers may receive a subsidy of RM600 per employee.  

During his televised national address today, Muhyiddin announced that the wage subsidy programme had managed to save 2.2 million jobs from being retrenched.

“To assist companies in the transition period during the reopening of economic sectors, the government will extend the wage subsidy for three more months.

“For employees in the tourism sector and those who are involved in economic activities prohibited during the CMCO (conditional movement control order) period, and those have been required to take unpaid leave, employers may apply for the wage subsidy provided that the employees receive the subsidy payments directly,” he said.

The government will also provide incentives for employers that undertake apprenticeship programmes, hiring graduates and school leavers, at a rate of RM600 per month for up to six months.

Previously, a total of RM13.5 billion out of the government's RM260 billion Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package was set aside for the wage subsidy programme, aimed at staving off retrenchment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The subsidy programme came into effect on April 1. Local workers earning less than RM4,000 a month are eligible for the subsidies with the amount depending on the size of a company's workforce.

Companies that employ more than 200 people will receive RM600 per retained worker, while those employing between 75 and 200 employees will get RM800.