KUCHING: The business community has given the state government top marks for extending measures to mitigate the rising cost of living.
These measures which will be effect from July to December are the main thrusts of the Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) 9.0 package unveiled today.
“The measures like the continuation of discounts on electricity and water bills; assessment rates for residential, commercial and industrial and special holdings; and 50 per cent discount for rental of stalls and markets under the purview of local authorities will definitely help to ease the financial burden of many families, especially those from the B40 and M40 as well as the micro-enterprises and petty traders,” said Sarawak Business Federation (SBF) secretary-general Datuk Jonathan Chai.
Towards this end he said no state in Malaysia has gone as far as the Sarawak government to help the people.
According to Chai, among the highlights of the BKSS 9.0 is the initiative of the Sarawak government in introducing the Variation of Price (VOP) 2.0 to cater to price increases of construction material for all state-funded projects.
“That special provision will definitely help a lot of contractors undertaking state-funded projects in tackling the inflationary pressures of the building materials and related services and consequently, to get the projects going for otherwise, these would be likely turned into ‘sick’ projects,” he said.
However, Chai voiced disappointment that nothing was provided to help the contractors and developers in coping or overcoming the spike in the prices of construction materials, especially those undertaking the construction of affordable housing in the private sector.
“The state government should consider giving a discount on capital contributions of water and electricity supply as well as a special rate on payment of premium for conversion of title conditions for such projects as it will effectively help to reduce the costs of construction of the developers in such an extraordinary time,” he said.
