KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — The government has allocated RM470 million for financing funds provided by SME Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional, Bank Rakyat, and Mara to support women’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) obtain working capital, purchase assets, and increase their business capacity to a higher level.
To encourage women to return to work, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said
the Women’s Leadership Apprenticeship Program will be intensified under the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry to produce more female corporate personalities.
“The Returnship Programme will be initiated to encourage women to return to work in the financial sector. This programme, organised by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Malaysian Securities Commission will provide training facilities and then connect with potential employers who are suitable for returning to work.
“The government also plans to offer an additional 50 per cent tax exemption to employers who employ women to return to work after pursuing their education through financial assistance for a period of 12 months,” he said during the tabling of Budget 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
In that, Anwar said newborn babies at high risk of contracting Hepatitis B need to be addressed and the government has provided a RM5 million allocation to implement the 1,000 First Days of Life Initiative.
“This effort is to start the detection early and provide treatment for diseases to produce a healthy and productive generation,” he said.
The welfare allocation for the elderly has been increased to RM1 billion to fund cash assistance and money for the elderly institutions and activity centres.
“The government also proposes that individual income tax exemptions related to sports and health care activities be reviewed again to preserve the welfare and guarantee the care of the elderly, including tax exemptions for parents’ full medical examination expenses to be expanded to cover the cost of vaccinations.
“In addition, tax exemptions for equipment and sports activities extended to parents; tax relief for medical treatment expenses for parents also includes grandparents, and additional tax deductions for employers who pay child care allowances have also been expanded to include care for the elderly, i.e. parents, grandparents,” Anwar said.
The well-being of the disabled community will also be upheld with the assistance allocation under the Social Welfare Department, which has been increased to RM1.3 billion from RM1.2 billion in the past.
Financing facilities via Bank Simpanan Nasional’s Sinar Scheme are provided with a RM50 million allocation for the disabled to engage in business.
“The government will also ease the burden of disabled taxpayers with the proposed additional tax relief for the disabled to be increased to RM7,000.
“The additional tax relief for disabled couples has been increased to RM6,000 and the tax relief for taxpayers with unmarried disabled children has been increased to RM8,000,” he said.
— Bernama
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