CONSTANT engagement between the government and the business industry is needed to let the government grasp the latter’s issues during the recovery process.
National Recovery Council Chairman Tan Sri Mahiaddin Md Yasin (picture) said the government cannot view the situation as business as usual because the nation is facing an unprecedented crisis and living in extraordinary times, especially when Covid-19 is still in the community.
“The government’s entire machinery must work hand in hand with the industry to address all the issues faced by all sectors of the economy and move towards full recovery in the shortest period of time.
“This requires the government to understand the industry’s needs and act swiftly and responsively to fulfil these needs and facilitate the recovery process. The government may also devise intervention strategies to expedite recovery,” he said in his speech at the Malaysia Entrepreneurs’ Development Association (PUMM) installation night, recently.
The former prime minister (PM) said associations like PUMM can serve as an important platform for the industry and government to collaborate and help all sectors recover from the impact of the pandemic while boosting economic growth.
Although Malaysia is projected to record positive growth this year, Mahiaddin said some sectors of the economy will take time to recover due to issues such as lack of manpower, financing and rising prices of goods.
“At the same time, as we are recovering, Covid-19 is still in the community. The emergence of new variants like Omicron poses yet another threat to our recovery process.
“While we strive to recover as fast as we can, there are still restrictions in place like tight border control that restrict the return of foreign tourists which causes the tourism sector in particular to take longer to rebound,” he said.
He added that as the industry and government embark on the journey to full recovery, the government needs support from the business community to avoid excessive profiteering which will lead to the increase in prices of goods and burden the people.
The business industry was also told to uphold the principle of trustworthiness and steer clear of corruption and bribery.
Mahiaddin said he had put a lot of focus on assisting the business community to persevere, recover and bounce back from the pandemic during his time as the PM.
“Sure, there were times where I had to make difficult and unprecedented decisions. There were times where I wished I could have had it easier compared to my predecessors in governing the country during the most turbulent of times.
“Despite having those thoughts, I kept my grounds. I balanced tough decisions between protecting life and livelihood for the people. I had always opted to keep them safe with the Movement Control Orders, public health actions and most importantly the massive rolling out of vaccination programmes that saved millions of lives,” he added.
Mahiaddin also called upon entrepreneurs to come together and help those that require help from the recent flood with donations and food banks.
“I believe entrepreneurs are the ones who can make a positive change to our beloved country. But not only that, entrepreneurs are also the ones who can help the world, and to make it a better place for all of us,” he concluded.
Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2022/01/10/govt-needs-constant-engagement-with-businesses-during-recovery-period/