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Lifeline for tourism, retail sectors

KUALA LUMPUR: When the Covid-19 pandemic hit last year, Rizal Mohamad found himself in a precarious spot.

The co-founder of SafarTrips and Snack Town was forced to contemplate letting go of his employees since “business was as good as dead” after the pandemic left the tourism industry battered.

Fortunately, the Wage Subsidy Programme 1.0 which was announced under the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin) in April last year offered him a much-needed lifeline.

“I applied for the subsidy programme to retain my four employees and I received the incentives in May.

“The process was smooth and my application was processed on time.

“The subsidies saved me from making that painful decision to release my dedicated team of staff.

“The money allowed me to keep them in jobs without any pay cuts.

“During the second round under the Prihatin Supplementary Initiative Package (Kita Prihatin), I was automatically eligible to receive the subsidy aid for another three months.

“So, in total, the Wage Subsidy Programme helped my team to pull through for nine months,” he told the New Straits Times.

Retaining his employees also inspired Rizal to pursue a new venture in October last year.

Rizal and his team started a one-stop online platform called Snack Town to market local snacks and delicacies produced by home-based sellers from Perlis to Sabah.

“Food and cultural heritage play a vital role in Malaysia’s tourism.

“For instance, some people might be craving for serunding from Kelantan but they are unable to travel and visit the stores there.

“Their cravings provides us with a business opportunity while we wait for the tourism industry to bounce back,” he said.

Rizal said his venture into the food business was only possible because the Wage Subsidy Programme allowed him to sustain his current team.

“Currently, I’m also eligible for the Wage Subsidy Programme 3.0 under the Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) and also for the targeted subsidies under the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (Pemerkasa) for the tourism, wholesale and retail trade sectors.

“This additional assistance will boost my team’s morale as we plan to make Snack Town a regional brand by marketing local snacks across Asia,” he said.

Source: NST