KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — The extension of the Wage Subsidy Programme for another three months until December 2020 provides the much needed support for industries in sustaining their business and safeguarding employment.
This is as businesses continue to face recovery challenges in the second half of 2020, especially in terms of lower projected domestic and export sales.
Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said as the impact of COVID-19 has weighed heavily on businesses, the federation recognised that the stimulus and economic recovery packages that had been swiftly introduced and implemented by the government have been very instrumental in the initial business recovery process.
The stimulus has also assisted businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in particular micro businesses, to overcome some of the challenges, especially cash flow constraints and in meeting fixed capital cost.
Under the Prihatin Supplementary Initiative Package (Kita Prihatin) package announced yesterday by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the government extended the Wage Subsidy Programme 2.0 with an additional allocation of RM2.4 billion which is expected to benefit 1.3 million employees.
“However, businesses, especially SMEs, are still very much cash-strapped and any further assistance to help meet their operational costs, including raw materials and manpower costs will be welcomed.
“To provide the much needed breathing space for businesses with their recovery, FMM appeals to the government and the financial institutions to continue providing moratorium support to the industry in these challenging times for another three months until December 2020,” said Soh.
