Najib chairing the National SMEs Council Meeting in Putrajaya. Also seen are Awang Tengah (front row, seventh right) and Julaihi (front row, right).
KUCHING: Sarawak has requested the Federal government for an extension of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) incentives for the state.
Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, Trade and Investment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan made the request during the SME council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Putrajaya on Thursday.
The meeting discussed a wide range of subjects affecting the development of SMEs in the country.
Accompanying Awang Tengah to the meeting were Assistant Minister of Industrial Development (Investment and Promotion) Datuk Julaihi Narawi and Ministry of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development, Trade and Investment permanent secretary Datu Liaw Soon Eng.
In a statement issued yesterday, Awang Tengah was said to have highlighted the high cost of doing businesses in Sarawak due to the poor road networks.
“For those who want to export their products to Peninsular Malaysia and overseas, there will be additional freight charges. As such, we requested the tax incentives on double tax deductions for rattan and wood-based and for insurance premiums to be extended,” he said.
He also requested the double tax deduction to include sawn-timber and veneer. This would reduce the financial burden of Sarawak companies especially the SMEs.