KUCHING: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac) welcomes the Permai Assistance Package announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said among the initiatives to further assist the micro and small and medium enterprises (SME) was the additional Permai Prihatin Special Grant of RM650 million.
“This additional grant will be able to benefit 500 SMEs in the seven movement control order (MCO) states with a payment of RM1,000.
“Meanwhile, 300,000 SMEs in other states will receive RM500 each,” he said on Monday.
Muhyiddin hoped that the expansion of the additional grant could help entrepreneurs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to conduct their business operations.
“As for the second initiative, the government will expedite the implementation of microcredit schemes that were announced previously and this is also expected to help business continuity for the micro and SME sector,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said a total of RM1 billion microcredit facilities including soft loans amounting to RM390 million by Bank Simpanan Nasional, RM350 million by Agrobank and RM295 million by Tekun would be implemented.
“The third initiative is to support and boost online businesses, and the allocation of RM300 million for the purpose of implement SME and Micro SME e-Commerce Campaign and Shop Malaysia Online campaign is expected to help those who want to venture into online business and get proper guidance,” he said.
He added Medac had always been concerned about the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on SMEs as well as informal entrepreneurs.
“Medac is confident and believes the Permai package announced by the prime minister can provide relief to entrepreneurs, especially those in the micro and SME sectors.
“This initiative is one of the government’s efforts to help entrepreneurs while they face this challenging time,” said Wan Junaidi.
Muhyiddin on Monday announced a RM15 billion Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) Assistance Package.
A total of 22 initiatives will be implemented under Permai with the aim of combatting the Covid-19 outbreak, safeguarding the welfare of the people as well as supporting business continuity.
