KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — The Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (PEMERKASA) initiative which provides microcredit financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can help ease the cash flow problems of those affected by the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0.
SME Association of Malaysia president Datuk Michael Kang said at least 30 percent of industries in Malaysia are still not allowed to operate during MCO 2.0, leaving them facing cash flow problems.
“The prime minister also said that the enforcement of a blanket Movement Control Order (MCO) may not be needed in the future and that it will be enforced only according to localities, focusing on the clusters involved, and that is the right solution,” he told Bernama.
Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) deputy director-general (entrepreneurship) Datuk Zulfikri Osman said the majority of micro-entrepreneurs are still in the initial survival stage this year, following the continuous MCO to curb the spread of the COVID-19.
As such, he said the microcredit financing facilities are very important to ensure the continuity of SMEs which would otherwise face the risk of being wound up.
“If the vaccination programme can be implemented properly and economic activities can resume, most SMEs will go back to being stable, and only then will the majority of SMEs be able to make plans to scale-up their business,” he said.
In announcing the PEMERKASA initiative today, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the government has agreed to allocate an additional RM500 million for microcredit financing facilities via programmes under Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), TEKUN, MARA dan SME Corp.
The amount is in addition to the RM1 billion allocation for the facilities announced in the 2021 budget earlier.
He said a fund of RM300 million will be provided through BSN, with a funding limit of up to RM50,000 at a reduced interest rate of three per cent from 3.5 per cent previously.
SME Corp would also provide RM50 million to help local micro SMEs obtain financing of up to RM250,000 at an interest rate of three per cent.
Meanwhile, MARA is offering RM50 million under the Micro Prihatin Business Financing Scheme to 1,000 micro SMEs, while TEKUN Nasional has allocated RM60 million for its Informal Financing Scheme for home-run businesses, as well as night market and open market (pasar tamu) vendors.
— BERNAMA
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