A comparative analysis of government assistance reveals Malaysia’s Covid-19 stimulus packages contribute more than 20 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is comparable to other developed countries, and higher than regional developing countries.

This shows that the measures the Malaysian government have implemented are in-line with other countries in the form of eight aid packages worth RM530 billion to address the health crisis with the latest stimulus package being Pemulih worth RM150 billion.

This study was conducted by the Finance Ministry’s Unit for the Implementation and Coordination of National Agencies on the Economic Stimulus Package (Laksana), comparing Malaysia with a number of Asia-Pacific countries, the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to the report, in the UK, stimulus packages contributed some 24.6 percent of GDP in 2020, New Zealand 22.4 percent and the US 17 percent.

As for the Asian region, Malaysia is consistent with Singapore, which contributed 19.3 percent of GDP, compared to countries like China, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan, which contributed below 10 percent.

In fact, when taking into account the previous aid packages, the value is actually more than 30 percent of GDP. This means Malaysia’s stimulus packages exceed many countries in terms of scope and size.

The Laksana analysis divides the country’s economic stimulus packages into three categories: rakyat or the people, business and economy and experts commend that they have been very successful in aiding Malaysians through the Covid-19 pandemic so far.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE