COMMENT | The vast majority of Malaysians agree that the movement control order (MCO) declared by the prime minister last week is necessary to curb the dangerous spike in new Covid cases. However, we have to recognise that around 10 -15 percent of the families in KL, Selangor, Johor and Sabah are currently facing severe cash flow problems to the extent they do not have food for their next meal.

The government, to be fair, has rolled out several initiatives to help families who are facing a drop in income. The Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) will be paying out its second instalment soon - RM 300 for B40 families and RM 200 for M40 families. This will be appreciated by the recipients but is definitely not enough for families where the breadwinner has lost his/her job.

The option of withdrawing a portion of their savings from Account 1 of the Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) - the iSinar scheme - is a lifesaver for many families, but there are many non-formal sector workers - the daily paid workers in restaurants and in the service sector, contract workers, small stall operators - who do not have EPF savings of any significance to depend upon.

The government must come out with a financial assistance scheme that targets the families that are in dire straits...