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KOTA KINABALU – The government must set guidelines for commercial banks if it wants to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially in Sabah, survive this difficult period.
Sabah Housing and Real estate Developers Association (SHAREDA) President, Datuk Chew Sang Hai said currently, it is nearly impossible for businesses to get Rescheduling and Restructuring (R&R) approvals for the loans they have with commercial banks.
“Of course, the banks would reject them. Those applying for R&R are those struggling with their businesses, so the banks must have reason to doubt their ability to repay their loans.
“So, if the Government really wants to help the SMEs, they should give specific guidelines and instructions to these commercial banks,” he said.
Chew also commented on small businesses that are granted automatic moratoriums as stated in the National Budget 2021 policy that was passed today.
“Small businesses, if I am not mistaken, refer to businesses such as food hawkers. What about the medium enterprises that are also badly affected by the pandemic? A lot of those in tourism, food and beverages, hospitality, and retail sectors are medium enterprises, and they have higher numbers of employees; if they close, there will be a lot more people losing their jobs.
“As a businessman and SHAREDA President, I am very worried that a lot of SMEs in Sabah will close down,” he told The Vibes.
Chew pointed out that he is facing the same problem as his peers when it comes to the wage subsidy programme, which had only covered employers for three months instead of nine.
“So how do we (employers) cover the wages for the other months? We could not tell our workers that we are unable to pay them because the government has not given us the subsidy, right? So, we must fork out our own money.
“For those who could not afford to cover these damages, they will have no choice but to close their businesses, which will create more unemployment here,” he said. –The Vibes, November 26, 2020.
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