KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has instructed all ministries to realign their initiatives, efforts and assistance to ensure that they reach target groups, particularly the poor and vulnerable, with no one left behind.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (May 12), Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the directive was issued after taking into account the impact of the global supply crisis, which is increasingly putting pressure on the prices of daily goods.
The matter was conveyed during the National Economic Action Council (MTEN) meeting, chaired by him on Tuesday, which examined several important proposals and initiatives aimed at strengthening the country's preparedness and economic resilience throughout the crisis.
"MTEN will continue to place its main focus on efforts to ensure supply continuity and protect the people, particularly vulnerable groups and petty traders, so that they are not further burdened by global economic shocks," he said.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister stressed that more local authorities nationwide should implement initiatives to reduce rental rates for premises, to help ease the burden on hawkers and petty traders affected by rising operating costs.
"The Madani government has begun reducing rental rates for hawker and trader premises, through Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara).
"This compassionate approach should be emulated by other local authorities, nationwide, for the well-being of the people and the sustainability of small businesses, amid increasingly challenging global economic conditions," he said.
Anwar added that the meeting also examined various strategic measures to address global uncertainties and the impact of rising living costs, including the development of a Global Supply Crisis Monitoring Dashboard and proposed policy improvements related to supply and pricing.
Earlier, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, during a briefing on global supply crisis, said MTEN had urged PBTs and state governments nationwide to reduce rental rates for premises or shops under their respective supervision, with immediate effect.
He also announced that the Global Supply Crisis Monitoring Dashboard, jointly developed by the Economy Ministry and the Statistics Department, is expected to be accessible to the public from May 15. – Bernama
