PETALING JAYA: The Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Samenta) believes the impact of the upcoming lockdown will be more drastic than that of the first movement control order (MCO) in March last year, particularly among non-essential businesses.
They said aid is needed urgently in order to help ensure the survival of companies and the well-being of their workers.
“While Samenta is aware of the justification for the lockdown, we are deeply concerned on the economic impact on SME businesses and their employees,” the group said in a statement.
It added that the immediate implementation of a RM1,000 per head wage subsidy that is easy for businesses to access is critical.
“There were complaints that not all companies were able to receive the subsidy for the full period during MCO 1.0,” it said.
Samenta also pushed for a loan moratorium to be established until the end of the year at zero interest, the suspension of statutory contributions until October and a discount of at least 30% on utilities.
On top of financial incentives, the group said government policies must be geared towards the survival of businesses.
“All manufacturing companies with export orders must be allowed to operate at 50% capacity even if they do not fall under the ‘essential’ category. The government should bear in mind that contractual orders have to be fulfilled to avoid further losses and penalties.”
Regarding businesses that may be listed as non-essential, Samenta said they must be allowed to operate if they support businesses that are considered essential or are within their logistics and supply chain.
The government must also offer free screening and testing services to SMEs it said, and consider making vaccinations mandatory in order to reach herd immunity as quickly as possible.
“The Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Covid 19 Act 2020 should be extended beyond June 2021 with the scope for relief extended to those in manufacturing and other related services.”
Meanwhile, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) president Marimuthu Nadason called for the government to ensure that households in the B40 and M40 categories receive RM3,000 aid every month for the next six months.
“At the same time, the government should suspend the salary for all state assemblymen and MPs,” he said.
Marimuthu added that taxes should be waived for all property sales, and that bankruptcy proceedings should be put on hold.
Other business groups have made similar suggestions after last Friday’s announcement by the National Security Council (MKN) on the lockdown from June 1-14.
Yesterday, the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia called for Putrajaya to expedite spending allocated in the Budget for small and medium projects, saying this would support domestic demand.
It also mooted handing out daily or weekly cash handouts of up to RM600 to taxi operators, e-hailing drivers and hawkers as well as an extension of the government’s wage subsidy programme.
The Malaysian Employers Federation called for the return of the automatic loan moratorium first introduced during the MCO in March 2020, and said SOPs on businesses that can operate and in what capacity, must be made clear from the onset of the lockdown.
The Federation of Malaysian Business Associations (FMBA), like Samenta, also called for the loan moratorium to be reinstated for seven months, that is until Dec 31, and with zero-interest.
“It must also include credit and leasing companies, which were not included during the first MCO moratorium,” the group said, adding that the government must also provide financial support, wage subsidies, statutory exemptions, and subsidies on utilities.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/05/30/sme-group-expects-impact-of-lockdown-to-be-worse-than-last-year/