SMEs on right track, thanks to govt

KUALA LUMPUR: The additional RM10 billion economic stimulus package under the Kita Prihatin programme has boosted sustainability while driving business transformation among entrepreneurs, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Apart from reviving the economy, it also gives business operators the much needed space to switch to new business models and form different consumer chains instead of relying on the conventional method.

Malaysian Consumer Transformation Movement Organisation chairman Azman Kang Abdullah said the operators managed to weather the Movement Control Order (MCO) period and stay active with the assistance from the Kita Prihatin programme, including the original stimulus package announced earlier this year.

He said it had benefited in the overall context of the national consumption.

“Businesses and traders are also consumers, this is the reality. If they can still operate while businesses are generally affected, it signals good transformation.

“The Kita Prihatin packages revitalise the economy and when this happens, it means that we are on the right track,” he said.

The government has allocated RM2 billion for SMEs with priority to those yet to secure bank loans for their business operations.

Meanwhile, Kelab Perantau 11 president Fairuz Mohamad said the assistance was timely as traders were affected by the pandemic.

As a non-governmental organisation carrying out aid programmes throughout the MCO, he said there were some traders who tried to self-sustain themselves.

“At the early stage, they still had some savings but it depleted over time.

“Imagine if they were not helped, how could they have supported their family with what was left of their savings?

“Certainly the allocation has helped them to restart their business,” he said.

Source: NST