Mohd Ariffin Abdullah
KUCHING (Jan 19): The expansion of the Prihatin Special Grant Plus assistance to include hawkers and small traders in the state is a much-awaited relief from the difficulties caused by Covid-19, said Sarawak Traders and Hawkers Association president Mohd Ariffin Abdullah.
He said the association welcomes the federal government’s expansion of the assistance, which involves an additional allocation of RM650 million, to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The community of hawkers and small traders are among the most affected since the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March last year until now.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has a huge impact on hawkers and small traders, who rely on income from daily sales, when they could not trade during the MCO period. As such, we are very happy and thankful to the prime minister for expanding this grant,” he said when contacted Tuesday.
Mohd Ariffin pointed out that even though the financial assistance may not be a large amount, it can cover the cost in business.
“Not only will it alleviate the burden of hawkers and small traders, it can also encourage them to continue to face the economic challenges that are hitting the industry.
“I hope all association members will persevere in facing this difficult time and continue to provide support to both the state and federal governments.,” he said.
In addition, he called on unlicensed hawkers and small traders to register themselves with local authorities so that it will be easier for them to get the assistance from the government.
The association currently has a membership of 1,450 since 2015.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced 22 initiatives that will be implemented under the RM15 billion ‘Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia’ (Permai) assistance package.
The package is aimed at protecting the economy and the people, following the declaration of Emergency to fight Covid-19.
The 22 initiatives to be implemented under the RM15 billion PERMAI Assistance Package aims to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, protect the welfare of the people and support business continuity.
The continuation of the Prihatin Special Grant Plus assistance is one of the initiatives that is set to provide assistance to the businesses and industries.
It is expanded to cover 500,000 SMEs in the seven states affected by MCO with a payment of RM1,000 each, while 300,000 SMEs in other states will receive RM500 each.