Mid and long term initiatives will be introduced by the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) to help the low-income community cope with the COVID 19 economic crisis.

Datuk Yew Tung Seang, Mayor of MBPP, said they're developing a forum for low-income workers, such as hawkers and market vendors.

The state government began to pay RM300s and RM500s single-off payments to disadvantaged groups, such as small-scale traders, hawkers, taxi drivers, electric hailers, trishaw drivers, disabled people and beneficiaries of a federal AES (Agenda Ekonomi Saksama).

'The one-off payment is the state government's immediate help, but we must analyze the effect afterward, especially for those with low incomes,' Yew said.

"We must help them and so we create something. If we succeed in this mission, we will proceed.

"It is the fact, like it or not, that digitization is the way forward for all of us here.

Citing an example, Yew said that its meetings were conducted online daily through video conferencing during this movement control order (MCO) period.

"We also meet people from outstation online to make things work and to continue services." But we must also strive to create a forum for companies, "Yew said."