Malaysia’s Muhyiddin unveils US$4.9 billion in fresh stimulus to aid coronavirus recovery

The plan will include a 11 billion-ringgit fiscal injection, the Malaysian prime minister said in a televised address on Wednesday

The additional funds are expected to help Malaysia reach its target of vaccinating 80 per cent of its 32 million population by December

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Malaysia‘s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin gestures during a virtual Apec meeting in November. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:57pm, 17 Mar 2021Updated: 7:57pm, 17 Mar 2021

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin unveiled a fresh round of stimulus on Wednesday, in the hope of breathing life into a pandemic-hit economy that last year saw its worst contraction since the Asian Financial Crisis.

Malaysia’s economy declined 5.6 per cent in 2020, its worst performance since a 7.4 per cent fall in 1998, as the government imposed strict movement curbs for most of the year to rein in the spread of Covid-19.

Muhyiddin said the government would roll out 20 billion ringgit (US$4.86 billion) worth of stimulus packages, including a 11 billion-ringgit fiscal injection.

A medical worker receives her second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at a health clinic in Malaysia. Photo: Bernama/DPA

“At this stage, the economic recovery strategy will focus on efforts to revitalise and jump-start the economy,” Muhyiddin said in a televised address.

Under the new stimulus plan, the government will raise its national Covid-19 immunisation budget to 5 billion ringgit, from the initial 3 billion ringgit laid out in its 2021 budget.

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