More than 90 pct entrepreneurs at risk if MCO continues -- MEDAC

KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 -- More than 90 per cent of micro, small, medium and informal enterprises would be risking business closure if the Movement Control Order (MCO) continues to be implemented, said the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative (MEDAC).

Its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said as such, the ministry will continue to undertake intervention measures under the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Recovery Plan, and offer financing assistance and targeted moratorium to help the entrepreneurs in facing the impact from the MCO.

Earlier on, the government had allocated RM340 billion under various economic stimulus packages to help cushion the impact from MCO.

Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi said the findings of two online survey conducted in March 2021 were very worrying.

“Fifty-four per cent of the 3,855 respondents, especially the micro-enterprises, stated that they can only survive for three to six months.

“Meanwhile, 72 per cent of the entrepreneurs expected that businesses would continue to suffer losses,” he told an online media conference on the findings from the “Impact of the Implementation of MCO on Entrepreneurs in Malaysia” research report.

The minister said that the current situation may contribute to loss of employment for more than three million Malaysians.

“Micro and informal enterprises are the worst affected as their products and services are in the non-essential sectors and they do not have solid savings and cash flow.

“As such, it is important to ensure that the appropriate type of assistance is given to help micro and informal entrepreneurs, and the PEMERKASA Plus initiative is expected to be able to support the resilience of this group during the lockdown," he added.

Wan Junaidi said a survey conducted by MEDAC involving 2,888 consumers found that the MCO has a negative impact on the people’s lives.

“The B40 group are more financially impacted, while the M40 and T20 groups were more impacted by social issues,” he said.

The survey also revealed that private sector workers face a higher risk of being retrenched, the minister said.

“Additionally, more than 50 per cent of the B40 group and almost 50 per cent of the M40 group have faced income reductions of between 10 per cent and 30 per cent, while 30 per cent of the T20 group saw their incomes reduced by more than 50 per cent due to the implementation of the MCO,” he added.

-- BERNAMA