KUALA LUMPUR: The government is still in the process of refining the current assistance provided during the implementation of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), according to Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

       The assistance was under further study with regard to the next steps that could be introduced to ensure the survival of the people and businesses in facing the challenges over the coming months, he said.

       “However, the existing assistance will be disbursed continuously, including the Pemerkasa Plus package introduced to reduce the rakyat’s burden during phase one of the current movement control order, ” Tengku Zafrul said in the Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) report yesterday.

       He noted that NRP was being implemented in phases, with threshold values or key indicators that needed to be achieved before transitioning from one phase to the next.

       The main indicators being monitored are the number of daily cases of infection, the capacity of the public health system based on bed utilisation rates in the intensive care unit ward, and the level of population that has completed two doses of vaccine injections.

       The minister said as a form of protection from financial problems and cash flow, unemployed individuals and those affected in sectors that were not allowed to operate were able to get an automatic loan moratorium for three months or a 50% reduction in instalment payment for six months.

       “The Finance Ministry has emphasised to the banking sector to facilitate the implementation of the moratorium assistance and the reduction of loan instalments to those affected by job losses or reduced income, ” he said. — Bernama