RM7 billion to stimulate the economy

Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razal yesterday announced in the Dewan Rakyat a stimulus package worth RM7 bilion, the result of savings in the government's fuel subsidy brought on by plummeting world crude prices.
He said the RM7 billion saved will be channelled into 15 projects.

This is how the money will be spent:

1. RM1.2 billion to build 25,000 units of low and medium cost houses;
2. RM500 million to upgrade, repair and maintain police stations, living quaters, army camps and quarters;
3. RM600 million on minor projects under the public and basic infrastructure project maintenance programmee. These include maintaining village roads, building community halls and small bridges. This would help small-time contractors address the problem of shortage of construction projects;
4. RM500 million to repair and maintain public facilities such as road, schools and hospitals ;
5. RM500 millionto build and upgrade roads in rural areas, villages and agriculture roads, including in Sabah and Sarawak;
6. RM200 million to government-aided religious schools, mission schools, Chinese and Tamil schools(shared equal);
7. RM300 million to start a fund to run skills training programmes, with focus on tourism, health, construction and business process outsourcing sectors;
8. RM500 million to bolster the public transport system(LRT,Komuter and city bus systems)
9. RM1.5 bilion to set up an Investment Fund to attract more private sector investment in strategic sectotrs, like solar panels, aerospace industry, and aeroplane components;
10. RM400 million to move the High Speed Broadband Project;
11. RM200 million to fund programmes by private training institutions, with participation of all races;
12. RM100 million for youth programmes at various levels and involving all races;
13. RM200 million to revive abandoned housing projects in stragic areas;
14. RM100 million to increase number of business premises in selected small towns;
15. RM200 million on early educational programmes for children aged one to six years. A project management unit will be set up to monitor the implementation of these projects, he said.

Other measures and iniatives announced by Najid were:

• Employees can reduce EPF contributions by 3 % on a voluntary basis for up to two years from 1 Jan. This measure can place RM4.8 billion in the hand of consumers if all EPF contributors opt for it;
• Abolishing the 5 % import duties on seven types of fertilisers. The fertiliser manufacturing industry has also agreed to cut down fertiliser prices by at least 15% immediately;
• Abolishing import duties on cement and long iron and steel products, and the scrapping of Approved Permits for the latter;
• Allowing hypermarkets to close late(weekdays 11 pm; weekends 1 am);
• Beginning February, biodiesel will be used as huel, starting with government vehicles, followed by the industrial and transport sectors. It is estimated that 500,000 tonnes of palm oil a year is nected when it is fully implemented in early 2010, he said.
• Plan to generate extra revenue and kickstart local economic activities by making full use of government land in strategic locations like the Lembaga Getah malayia land at Sungai Buluh and government land in jalan Cochrance and in Jalan Ampang Hilir, Kuala Lumpur.
• To widen the Social Security Net to improve spending power of the poor and low income earners, the income eligibility for monthly welfare aid raised from RM400 to RM720 in Peninsula, RM830 in Sarawak and RM960 in sabah. This will widen to cover 110,000 people from 55,000 now.
• Higher car loan ceiling for government servants in several categories, and the permission for government servants to buy houses on a secondary market where strata titles not given yet;
• All civil servants can opt tp extend housing mortgate repayment period to 30 years instead of 25. Earlier, the government only allowed new borrowers to do so.