PETALING JAYA: Budget 2022 will spur economic growth and improve the well-being of the Malaysian Family as the nation moves to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, says Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

       Tabling the country’s annual spending plan at the Dewan Rakyat, he said the people had high expectations that the government would revive and rebuild the economy.

       “Budget 2022 is a collective effort of the Malaysian Family to rise up and work towards the country’s recovery,” he said.

       With its theme of “Keluarga Malaysia, Makmur Sejahtera” (A Prosperous Malaysian Family), Budget 2022 has a RM332.1bil expenditure, the biggest in the country’s history, surpassing Budget 2021 that previously held that distinction.

       It is also the first federal budget tabled by the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and is divided into three focus areas.

       These are: improving the people’s well-being, helping businesses build resilience, and creating a prosperous and sustainable economy.

       Among Budget 2022’s measures to help Malaysians hit by the effects of the pandemic is the introduction of the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) aid payment.

       The aid scheme further improves the current Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR).

       For example, households with three or more children earning RM2,500 or less monthly will receive aid of RM2,000 each next year, more than the RM1,800 limit under the current BPR scheme.

       The country’s social safety net will also be strengthened with various measures.

       These include widening the benefits of the Tenang voucher scheme, which helps B40 (bottom 40% household income) individuals to buy health and life insurance products.

       From next year, people who ride motorcycles to earn their livelihoods such as p-hailing riders will be able to buy insurance for their vehicles using these vouchers.

       To boost the country’s handling of Covid-19, the Health Ministry will receive an allocation of RM32.4bil, the second-largest after the Education Ministry.

       Of this amount, RM2bil will be channelled to buy vaccines and RM2bil for additional Covid-19 expenses.

       Tengku Zafrul also announced that the government would be purchasing another 88 million doses of vaccines, which will be the third dose for children between the ages of 12 and 17.

       “The government has always been able to help those in need since the pandemic started, despite limited fiscal space,” he said.

       An example is the introduction of eight economic aid and stimulus packages so far, with a total value of RM530bil.

       The aid and stimulus packages, he said, helped lead to an economic growth of 7.1% for the first half of this year following a contraction of 5.6% in 2020.

       While economic growth for the third quarter of this year is expected to be affected by the third movement control order, the economy is expected to grow again in the fourth quarter and next year.

       Tengku Zafrul said Malaysians were still reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many frontliners still unable to be with their families due to their duties.

       He, however, assured the people that Malaysia was close to winning the war against the pandemic, and said Budget 2022 would represent their aspirations.