SME Association of Malaysia VP Chin Chee Seong

SME Association: One more MCO Will Kill More Businesses

Business

The SME Association of Malaysia has expressed concerns that another round of Movement Control Order (MCO) would lead to more local businesses folding and lead to increased unemployment throughout the country.

Its vice president Chin Chee Seong said in a statement that another round of MCO would “just kill more businesses which are currently just grappling with staying afloat”.


Earlier today, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) had also issued a similar statement requesting for business and economic activities to be allowed to continue operating, albeit under stricter Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

“We support a targeted Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) which is more localised with stricter SOP and travel restrictions but not a total lockdown similar to that implemented in March 2020,” said FMM president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai.

“Although we appreciate the need to strike that delicate balance between saving lives and saving livelihoods, a second round of total lockdown would be disastrous for SMEs which would then be forced to lay off employees,” said Chin, who is also Malaysia Cross-Border e-Commerce Association national president.

Chin also urged for faster application processing for grants and incentives for local SMEs.

“The reality today is that SMEs continue to suffer significant economic loss as a result of pandemic-induced restrictions and hindrances,” he said.

He added that SME Association has identified numerous measures that the government could undertake to accelerate the recovery for businesses, as well as the economy as a whole from the adverse impact caused by the pandemic.

Among the government’s grants and incentives, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and BSN jointly-managed SME Digitalisation Grant and the Penjana Smart Automation Grant are both widely held to be the most favourable forms of financial assistance for SMEs.

“However, the grant application process is paved with its own set of challenges. Many applicants have experienced long processing times, taking months in some cases, before their applications were matched and approved,” stressed Chin.

“Even after obtaining approval, the SME Association has received feedback that funds were slow in being remitted, resulting in further setbacks in business operations.”

“Although the association appreciates the availability of these grants, we cannot stress enough the importance for them to be disbursed quickly so that local SMEs could then digitise their operations and increase productivity,” he further said.

Chin also suggested for more entrepreneurship and digital training programmes to be introduced and implemented, especially for the Malaysian youth community.

“Furthermore, the government should also consider furnishing businesses with more employee-centric incentives and financial packages in order for them to hire more fresh graduates,” he added.

“The SME Association hopes that with all the necessary financial incentives in place and acceleration in the handling and processing of applications by the relevant government agencies, the economy would begin showing signs of recovery by the second quarter of 2021,” Chin concluded.

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