The Malaysian Insight

MORE subsidies and deferred repayment of loans are what small businesses are hoping for from Putrajaya’s stimulus package to be announced on March 30 to deal with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak.

Hawkers, petty traders and farmers are banking on Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s promise that the package will focus on small vendors, taxi drivers, farmers, fishermen, livestock farmers, factory employees, private employees and civil servants.

Kuala Lumpur Hawkers and Petty Traders’ association chairman Ang Say Tee told The Malaysian Insight he hopes the plan will help small traders who have lost their income under the two-week movement control order that ends on March 31.

Many small vendors are agonising over their unpaid housing or car loan installments, Ang told The Malaysian Insight.

“Especially small- and medium-sized business vendors; they live by hand to mouth. So, it is traumatic for them to have no income,” Ang said.

“Bigger companies are also suffering. Even if employees don’t work during the movement control order, employers still have to pay salaries and rent.”

Ang suggested that the government allow payments for all home mortgages, car loans and store loans to be deferred for the next six months.

Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Farmers Association president Tan So Tiok, meanwhile, proposed that the government provide farmers with vegetable and fruit production subsidies.

“In fact, this measure was implemented in 2008. At the time, the government provided a subsidy to help farmers increase production in the face of soaring crude oil prices.

“The subsidy for vegetables was RM81 per tonne and RM78 per tonne for fruits. However, the government cancelled the subsidy the following year.”

Tan also hopes the government will provide a one-off payment to farmers.

“Under the current movement control order, there are fewer shoppers and the demand for vegetables in the market has also decreased by 30%.

“At the same time, the impact on the tourism industry has also indirectly reduced demand for vegetables,” Tan said.

The package must be comprehensive, Ang added, or the continued impact of the Covid-19 outbreak will have far-reaching consequences.

Late last month, then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced an economic stimulus package worth RM20 billion.

Under that package, the government will waive or reduce taxes of affected industries, such as exempting hotel service tax, and also give hotels, travel agencies and shopping malls electricity discounts, alongside other measures to reduce operating burdens.

The government also paid a one-off RM600 cash injection to registered taxi drivers, tour bus drivers and tricycle riders carrying tourists.

Dr Mahathir’s package had three strategies, namely, to reduce the pandemic’s impact, to encourage economic growth, and to promote quality investment. – March 25, 2020.