Foo
KOTA KINABALU: Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Sabah (SME Sabah) president, Foo Ngee Kee has welcomed the statement by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah that the government had no intention to extend the current Movement Control Order (MCO) which was scheduled to end on February 4, but instead implement the Conditional MCO (CMCO) for three months until May to continue curbing the spread of Covid-19 cases.
He said uncertainty was the biggest fear of the business community because they could not strategize for the future.
If the government accepts Noor Hisham’s suggestion to impose CMCO for three months after February 4, it will help the recovery of the business community who have been impacted by the pandemic.
Foo, who manages a hotel, said couples have held off on booking banquet hall for their wedding receptions as they are worried that the MCO might be reimposed anytime, whereas hoteliers are also concerned with the uncertainties that laid ahead.
“Winning the war against Covid-19 may take one to two years.
“It will be easier for businesses to plan their future directions if the government has a long-term policy in place,” he said when asked whether the current MCO should be extended after February 4.
He opined that extending the MCO would cause irreversible damage to the country’s economy.
He concurred that implementing the CMCO, along with the following proposals, would minimize the impact of Covid-19 on the economy.
Firstly, Foo said the enforcement must be strict, fast, accurate and without delay.
He pointed that China had demonstrated that sufficient resources and strict enforcement was an effective measure to contain the virus.
Secondly, he said the authority must conduct large-scale Covid-19 screening to effectively break the chain of infection.
“Even conducting screening using Rapid Test Kit (RTK) is better than nothing at all. Besides, RTK produces faster result.”
Foo stressed that the government must allocate sufficient funding to states battling with high numbers of Covid-19 cases, including Sabah, in order to acquire adequate reagents.
In addition, he said the government must expand the capacity and manpower of laboratories for Covid-19 tests because any delay in the results would worsen the spread of the virus.
If government laboratories are unable to cope, the authority should outsource Covid-19 testing to private laboratories so that the results could be produced sooner, he said.
“The Health Ministry’s frontliners are exhausted.
“I suggest the government employ more manpower for administrative works, such as contact tracing.
“This will not only create job opportunities, but also allows frontliners to focus on medical aspects,” he said, adding that the Health Ministry should have increased its manpower six months ago.
In terms of wage subsidy, Foo said the Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (Permai) aid package had provided employers with wage subsidy of RM600 for a period of one month.
But under the Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana), he said the government offered employers who recruited new employees wage subsidy at 40 percent for a period of six months.
“This in a way may encourage employers to replace old employees with new ones.
“Employers may sack existing employees, particularly those at managerial level, and fill the vacancy with new workers in order to be eligible for the 40 percent wage subsidy for six months, which will alleviate their financial pressure tremendously.”
As such, he suggested the government to continue with the wage subsidy system under Penjana by maintaining the subsidy rate at 40 percent for at least three months to curb the rising unemployment figures.
He said the government should provide wage subsidy across all sectors.
“Companies which are allowed to operate during MCO 2.0 are facing a tough time to sustain their business as well due to the sharp drop in sales volume, such as the retail and food and beverage sectors,” he said.
Foo also said he had received complaints from employers who have yet to receive their wage subsidy, with some claimed that the payment had been delayed since the year before.
“The government must ensure the payment is disbursed promptly because the subsidy is important to employers.”
He stressed that the government’s policy after February 4 would determine our country’s success in containing the Covid-19 pandemic and ensure economic recovery.
“I dare say this is our last battle. If we cannot do better in the next six months, our country’s economy will collapse.
“It will be extremely difficult to save our economy then.
“If the unemployment rate soars, there will be social issues. I hope these will not happen to our country,” he said.