Image credit: Berita Harian
KOTA KINABALU: The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sabah will greatly benefit if Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal becomes the Prime Minister, said SME Association of Sabah (SME Sabah).
Its Founding President, Foo Ngee Kee, said this is because Sabah SMEs have been facing difficulties in getting incentives and aids that were approved by Federal for all SMEs in Malaysia.
This problem was felt most during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, citing many SMEs in Sabah were not able to get the Special Relief Facility (SRF) at 3.5 per cent, wage subsidy of RM1,200 per month per worker was approved late and, after approval was not disbursed by Socso to the some applicant SMEs as late as two months.
“I am sure that with the Prime Minister being Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, these matters can be resolved easily and speedily.
“During the past two years, SME Sabah has been actively engaging with the various Sabah ministries and we have always been welcomed to put forth our ideas for the ministries’ consideration. A number of our ideas were well received by them and this motivated us to continue engaging with these ministries for the common good of the Sabah people,” he said in a statement, Monday.
Foo said when Penampang MP Datuk Darell Leiking was the Federal Minister of Trade and Industry, Sabah SMEs were given many opportunities to attend free-of-charge seminars on IR 4.0, MDEC, etc. for their knowledge and improvement of their business operations. Some of these free seminars were even held in Sandakan and Tawau to extend the reach throughout Sabah.
“Shafie is a people-centric Chief Minister and often “turun padang (go down to the ground)” to mingle with the people to get first-hand information of Sabahan’s plight and their well-being.
“This coupled with the 30 years of services in the Federal Government in seven ministries, would be an ideal candidate for “PM for the Rakyat” who understands through his own personal experience and knowledge the issues, not just concerning Sabah alone but, the whole of Malaysia.
“This is what Malaysia needs to have, a PM that promotes balance and fair development programmes and distribution of wealth amongst all Malaysians. It is by no means an easy task in achieving proper balance but; a much-needed direction for peace and stability which, in turn fosters economic development and growth,” he said.
Source: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/155028/boost-for-sabah-smes-if-shafie-becomes-pm/