KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — The Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Samenta) Malaysia urged the government to consider extending the wage subsidy programme throughout all phases of the movement control order (MCO) and conditional or to the end of 2021 at the least.

In a statement, its chairman Datuk William Ng said this was their proposal to the government bearing in mind that wages remain one of the largest costs for SMEs.

"We remain hopeful that the government will consider our proposal to extend the wage subsidy programme throughout all phases of MCO and CMCO, or to the end of 2021 at the least, as wages remain one of the largest costs for SMEs,” the association said.

Samenta also said that it welcomed the announcement of the Pemerkasa Plus, specifically the extension of the wage subsidy programme for affected sectors, the opt-in moratorium for affected businesses and the Prihatin grant as timely intervention for SMEs who are already out of ideas how to keep their businesses going.

"We are also glad to note that the vaccination programme would be sped up.

"Once again, Samenta calls on the government to engage and mobilise the machinery of the state governments and private sectors in speeding up the vaccination programme, as soon as possible.

"We hope the government will agree to prioritise the economic sector for vaccination including allowing SMEs to organise themselves for this purpose,” said Ng.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced an additional RM40 billion worth of aid to help stem the fallout of a strict lockdown that will begin today.

Of that amount, RM5 billion will be in direct fiscal injection.

The relief package, dubbed Pemerkasa Plus, will beef up the healthcare system, continue previous welfare programmes and help businesses weather the lockdown, as he vowed to "balance lives and livelihood”.