Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will launch the short-term economic recovery plan (ERP) this month, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz. The plan, which will take place between June to December, will focus on three key objectives: empowering the people, propelling businesses, and stimulating the economy.

“Truly, the short-term economic recovery plan represents an opportunity for us to take advantage of new opportunities arising from the Covid-19 crisis for the sake of the nation’s future development,” said Tengku Zafrul. He further explained that the government’s approach to achieving the objectives will be based on four features.

Firstly, the ERP needs to be agile and dynamic. This means that the plan must be able to be continuously refined, depending on the changing needs and challenges throughout the year.

Secondly, the ERP will prioritise cooperation between the public and private sector. It would include measures that see the involvement of industry players from the private sector, rather than just government-linked companies and government-linked investment companies.

Thirdly, the ERP needs to feature comprehensive communication and a wide reach. In other words, the government will communicate their efforts openly and with transparency, ensuring that Malaysians and the business sector will develop confidence in the plan. Consequently, they can play their roles in reviving the country’s economy.

Lastly, the implementation of the ERP will be data-oriented. Its execution is based on data and statistics so that the measures taken can be monitored as well as quickly and accurately refined. “The latest data will be shared with the government and private sectors, as well as implementing agencies for continuous improvements,” said Tengku Zafrul.

The short-term ERP is part of the country’s six-phase plan to aid Malaysia’s economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic and the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO). The six-phase plan is comprised of 6Rs, namely resolve, resilience, restart, recovery, revitalise, and reform. The ERP marks the start of the recovery phase, and will be followed by a medium-term revitalisation plan under Budget 2021 as well as a long-term reform plan in the form of the 12th Malaysian Plan.

(Source: The Edge Markets)

• TAGS:
• Covid-19 Economy
• Economic Recovery Plan
• ERP
• Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
• Tengku Dato' Sri Zafrul Aziz