GEORGE TOWN, June 5 ― Owners of private business premises and associations here have been urged to provide exemption or reduction of rental rates to tenants who were unable to operate during the movement control order (MCO) in a bid to help cover their losses.
State Domestic and International Trade, Entrepreneurship Development and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain said he had received many complaints from business premises tenants about owners refusing to grant them exemptions during the MCO period although the Covid-19 pandemic had had a negative impact on all parties, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“I also visited several business premises and shopping malls to get their feedback since they were allowed to resume operation on May 8. The pandemic, however, caused many SME entrepreneurs in Penang to face critical cash flow problems,” he said in a statement today.
“Most business premises owners have received government assistance in the form of moratorium, interest and penalty exemptions… so these benefits should be trickled down to tenants so that the SMEs can be rescued.
“SMEs in the country account for nearly 39 per cent of Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and that’s a huge number, besides providing employment to over 60 per cent of the people in the country.”
He said that the state government had also helped to ease the burden of those affected by the pandemic through a RM151 million economic stimulus package. ― Bernama
