KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — Dewan Rakyat today passed the Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021 that seeks to provide more space and opportunities to individuals and companies affected during the pandemic in their recovery process.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Mutalib said the ministry (KPKT) was in talks with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) to extend the homeownership campaign scheduled to end on December 31.

"Currently, the stamp duty exemption for the instrument of transfer and loan agreement for the purchase of a first home worth not more than RM500,000 is still in effect until December 31, 2025.

"The government welcomes the proposal to extend the moratorium period to coincide with the period of the implementation of Act 829 (Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) 2020),” he said when winding up the debate on the bill.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Awang Hashim and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin also participated in the winding-up debate.

Earlier, while tabling the bill for second reading, Mas Ermieyati said the amendments involved 10 clauses under the act which were proposed by the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM), KPKT, Human Resources Ministry and MOF.

She said the amendments under JPM sought to help more people who are affected and fail to meet their contractual obligations as well as to further expand the scope of mediation services under the Covid-19 Mediation Centre to assist parties in contractual disputes.

Mas Ermieyati said the majority of the amendments were proposed by those in the industrial sector as well as businesses such as housing developers, trade unions as well as house buyers.

The bill was tabled to support and complement the government’s incentives and commitment to helping those in need, she added. — Bernama