GEORGE TOWN, Jan 14 ― The Penang government has approved a RM20 million financial assistance package to help those affected by the second round of the movement control order (MCO) that started yesterday and is supposed to end on January 26.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the RM20 million allocation for targeted groups is on top of last year’s RM151 million aid to businesses, organisations and individuals affected by the pandemic.

He appealed to all businesses and the community to comply with the SOPs to flatten the curve in the state.

“We should be aware that according to the Penang Health Department statistics, up to 13 January 2021, out of an accumulative figure of 5,479 cases, 3,246 (59 per cent) are local citizens while 2,233 (41 per cent) are non-citizens,” he said.

The details of the RM20 million financial assistance will be announced later.

Separately, Tourism and Creative Economy Committee Chairman Yeoh Soon Hin today proposed that the state government extend the six-month moratorium for repayment of its Skim Peka 2.0.

He said the successful applicants of Skim Peka 2.0 were supposed to begin their repayment to Penang Development Corporation (PDC) early this year.

“With the return of MCO, I would be proposing for the successful applicants of Skim Peka 2.0 to be given a six-month extension before they begin their repayment early this year,” he said.

He said the tourism industry is greatly affected by the implementation of MCO as well as the restriction on interstate travel.

“At this time, I believe that the extension of the moratorium could help the industry players to improve their cash flow and I will be bringing it up at the Penang State Executive Council,” he said.

Yeoh had also written to the Association of Banks in Malaysia and the minister of finance to appeal to them to consider an extension of moratorium for those impacted by the current MCO.

Skim Peka 2.0 is a Penang Business Continuity Zero Interest Loan offered by PDC to eligible Penang tourism industry players last year.