He also suggested pay cuts for ministers and GLC bosses to help finance the aid for those in need.
Shafie said although the government had announced assistance of up to RM295 billion through all the stimulus packages, the direct fiscal injection of RM45 billion was low compared with other countries in the region such as Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
He said in order to protect livelihoods there must be immediate measures to ensure a safety net was provided, with cash in the hands of those affected to sustain them through this pandemic.
“A monthly cash assistance of RM750 per month for the next 12 months for all B40 families should be provided and RM500 per month for all M40 households, single mothers, elderly, the physically disabled and homeless,” he said in a statement.
The Semporna MP said the recipients, aged above 18, must be registered with the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN), Socso and Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
At the same time, he proposed that all the 110 social assistance and social safety net programmes run by at least 30 government agencies and ministries be combined and centralised under the women, family and community development ministry for better coordination and cost savings.
Shafie pointed out that assistance towards managing the pandemic must remain a priority, with the relevant ministries and agencies given enough resources.
A monthly cash grant of up to RM1,000 for six months should also be given to those who are unemployed due to retrenchment or contract termination, excluding those under the Socso employment insurance system Socso (EIS).
Besides that, to assist families that need cash, the government should consider an emergency microcredit to troubled households, with a maximum of RM2,500 interest free loan for families and an additional RM 2,500 interest-free loan to rebuild their lives.
To help restart businesses, he proposed that a grant of RM 6,000 be given to all self-employed, including freelancers, and that this be paid in equal amounts of RM500 per month.
Other suggestions in his long proposal included how to finance the plan, which he estimated to cost a total of RM115 billion next year.
He said the government should tap into several reserve funds and divest some of its holdings in government-linked companies (GLCs) to local government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and pension funds.
“Public entities owned by the rakyat such as EPF and Tabung Haji (among others) will be the main beneficiaries of the diversification. In that way, government assets will be owned directly by the people,” he said.
Another way to raise the money was to borrow RM40 billion next year as well as by slashing the salaries of ministers and deputy ministers by 30% for the next 12 months, he said.
He said the salaries of GLC and GLIC bosses and board members should also be cut as “several of them are getting stratospheric salaries despite working for public-owned firms.”
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