KUCHING: In light of the desperate economic climate, the government needs to come up with drastic measures and effective policies to counter the negative impacts that have arisen from the Covid-19 pandemic, says Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCGCCI) secretary-general Jonathan Chai Voon Tok.
“With the slumping oil prices we are facing now, our country’s income is adversely affected and consequently, it does not give our government much room to manoeuvre,” he said.
He said that the stimulus package of RM20bil tabled by the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government may not be sufficient in tackling the problems and lagging effects faced by the economy.
He said that while the business community welcomed all measures and efforts on the part of the government to help businesses pull through this challenging time, it was also hoped that immediate solutions to some on-hand problems would be realised.
According to him, the suggestion by PH leaders for a three-month moratorium on bank loan repayments would indeed help many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who had taken loans to run their businesses.
“In addition, it would be a great favour to the business sector if the government could shoulder the burden of paying the salaries of the employees during the movement control order (MCO) period.
“Of course, it would be good if the government could increase the spending on expenditures by implementing more infringement development projects to create spin-off effects to our economy,” said Chai.
He noted that the government had already come up with many different kinds of loans or financing facilities with the objective of helping the businesses to ease their cash flow or providing them with the working capital to fund their new business ventures.
“However, the government must ensure that all these beneficial policies can be effectively and promptly implemented, so that people on the ground can reap the benefits and experience the spin-off effects as soon as possible,” he urged.
Earlier, PH leaders called for measures to help Malaysian businesses and employees endure the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aside from the three-month moratorium on bank loan repayments, they also urged the government to increase spending to assist SMEs across all sectors – in particular those involved in tourism and sundry businesses.
