MACEOS urges gov’t to consider wage subsidy extension

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) is urging the government to consider the extension of wage subsidy structure of 50 per cent for employees with the inclusion of those earning RM6,000 and below.

MACEOS president Francis Teo said this is in order to sustain non-essential industries’ operations and workforce during these trying times.

Teo said many industry players are struggling to stay afloat, utilising various strategies to keep business going, including salary cuts, work from home arrangements, and taking unpaid leave.

He said among the concerns is about how much longer industry players could sustain their business if business events continued to be barred.

Teo also urged the government to allow production crew in a dedicated studio to work and provide technical support when delivering virtual events in the Movement Control Order (MCO) areas while observing strict standard operating procedure (SOP).

At the same time, he said business events industry players and its members are urged to be mindful of the National Security Council’s guidelines during the MCO.

Teo also recommended industry players, particularly venue operators which are well suited to handle large crowd systematically and safely, to play a role in the upcoming National Vaccination Plan by offering their venues as temporary vaccination sites when vaccines are available in Malaysia.

The second round of the MCO is better done now than later and that MACEOS members would rally behind the government decision, as Malaysia enters another round of enforced MCO this Wednesday, Teo said.

“Might as well bite the bullet now and enforce stricter control to flatten the curve. We hope that by doing this, we are all playing our part to enable the business events industry to recover sooner.

“Though we understand the decision of the Malaysian government to enforce the MCO which begins tomorrow and we support it, we also hope that the government will consider the livelihoods of our members and more than 30,000 workforces in the business events industry.

“The Prime Minister has also announced a state of emergency on the country, but there is no curfew imposed, so we do not see that the situation will have a further impact on the business events industry,” he said in a statement today.

Source: NST