PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) today expressed disappointed over the lack of allocation for the business events industry in the national budget.
In a statement, it said the lack of financial support in Budget 2021 would deal a “huge blow” to an industry that had already lost an estimated RM2.25 billion as a result of closed borders due to the pandemic.
It added that 5,610 employees – amounting to 17% of the total industry workforce – had already lost their jobs.
“It is disappointing that zero allocation was given to help the recovery efforts, protect jobs, and support the small- and medium-sized enterprises in our industry.”
Francis Teo, president of MACEOS, said the industry would not be able to sustain itself much longer if no business events were allowed to be held under the areas of the conditional movement control order and borders remained closed.
Saying they had submitted a number of proposals to the government, he hoped these could be implemented to help sustain the industry.
The recommendations include extending the loan moratorium until June 2021, extending the wage subsidy programme and including those making less than RM6,000 a month in it, as well as various tax breaks for industry stakeholders.
“I hope the government will reconsider the distribution of financial assistance and provision of incentives to help our industry which has demonstrated its potential as a catalyst for economic growth in the past,” Teo said.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/11/11/budget-2021-a-disappointment-says-business-events-group/