KUCHING: The government’s latest stimulus package, Pemulih or National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package, to weather the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is greatly welcomed by the Sarawak business community.
Noteworthy to businesses is the continuation of the assistance to employers to help pay workers’ salaries under Wage Subsidy Programme 4.0 with an allocation of RM3.8 billion and the automatic extension of loan moratorium for all borrowers.
Among them is the Wage Subsidy Programme 4.0 with an allocation of RM3.8 billion as announced by the Prime
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. — Bernama photo
Employers will benefit from the wage subsidy for up to 500 workers with assistance of RM600 per worker for four months under Pemulih that was announced by the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on June 28.
The subsidy is offered to all sectors with no salary cap for two months in the second phase of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) and another two months for sectors categorised as negative in the third phase of NRP.
The Sarawak Business Federation (SBF) lauded the measure to mitigate the impacts of lockdowns in the state.
Jonathan Chai
Federation secretary-general Jonathan Chai believed the initiatives under the Pemulih would support businesses and the public at large to cope with financial difficulties.
“In particular, the provision of the Wage Subsidy Programme 4.0 and the automatic extension of the loan moratorium will definitely help to ease the cash flow of the businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” he said.
The sentiment is echoed by NewDay Pharmacy chief pharmacist Eileen Lau Ruey Lee, lamenting that small businesses which are the backbone of the local economy are being severely impacted.
“Since 2020, Malaysia has issued several stimulus packages to mitigate the economic and financial impact brought about by this pandemic,” she told The Borneo Post.
“Pemulih is crucial to keep small businesses going, by bridging the cash flow gaps and supporting the business operations in terms of subsidising employees’ wages.”
Eileen Lau Ruey Lee
She also singled out the rollout of initiatives to spur the digitalisation of business to encourage companies to participate in the growing trend of e-commerce triggered by the pandemic.
“This offers businesses new revenue as well as new opportunities for the businesses to add new values to the increasing number of digital savvy customers,” she said.
“The Pemulih stimulus package certainly empowers SMEs to not only survive and persevere through this crisis, but to position them to better adapt to this changing business world.”
Datuk Seri Victor Hii Lu Thian, managing director of Sarawakbased Asteel Group, Thian, applauded the government’s efforts to ease the burden of Malaysians during this challenging time.
However, he appealed to both federal and state governments to look into more long-term sustainable measures for Malaysia to move towards postpandemic recovery.
“The latest Movement Control Order (MCO) and Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) have further disrupted businesses across the board, causing delays in production and delivery to customers, which have led to many incurring losses,” he added.
“We wish to emphasise that many businesses in Sarawak are interdependent of other businesses located in different areas within the state or across states.
“Therefore, the government should implement a recovery plan tailored to the current conditions in East Malaysia, by putting in place targetted lockdowns in areas with the highest number of infections while allowing businesses in key economic sectors in Sarawak (both essential and non-essential sectors) to resume operations with minimal disruptions for them to remain afloat.”
Speed up vaccination to aid recovery process
Datuk Seri Victor Hii Lu Thian
Hii, who is also a Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) council member and chairman of FMM Sarawak Branch, urged for more effort to expedite the vaccination process among Sarawakians as livelihoods are impacted every day.
“Failing to do so will impact the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the long run; increase the poverty rate of the country and impact our foreign direct investment,” he told The Borneo Post.
“As such, we hope that the government will consider revising the post-pandemic recovery plan to cushion the impact on businesses in Sarawak, particularly the state’s SMEs and microSMEs.
At the same time, Hii called on industry players, especially in the manufacturing sector, to strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and expedite the immunisation of their workers through the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) and Public-Private Partnership Covid-19 Industry Immunisation (Pikas).
“By ensuring that their workers are vaccinated, they will also be able to keep their family and friends safe from the virus.
“At Asteel, we remain steadfast in ensuring the health and safety of all of our employees. We are pleased to share that approximately 50 per cent of our workforce has been vaccinated to date and we hope to complete the process as soon as possible.
“Lastly, we also wish to encourage businesses to do their best to adapt to rapid change by identifying alternative working arrangements for their employees, reimagining business-as-usual, and complying with local labour laws to ensure the continued wellbeing and safety of their employees, customers, and other stakeholders.”
The government had allocated RM150 million for PIKAS to encourage industries and companies to participate in the programme.
Companies registered under the Human Resource Development (HRD) can use the current levy balance of up to 10 per cent for the cost of management and purchase of Covid-19 vaccine.
Tax deductions are also given to employers for expenses on medical equipment and the setting up of vaccination centres (PPVs). The tax deduction on Covid-19 contributions through community or charitable projects was also extended to cover contributions to PPVs.
The government would also consider allowing companies to operate at full capacity if all their workers received two doses of vaccinations.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3AgdRaU
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