PETALING JAYA: The government has been urged to look at the survival of all companies and not just Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
SMEs have a strict definition by SME Corp Malaysia, and many companies fall out of this scope, Knight Frank Malaysia Managing Director Sarkunan Subramaniam said today.
Knight Frank LLP is a leading independent global property consultancy.
In welcoming the third stimulus package worth RM10 billion rolled out to mitigate the severe social and economic impacts arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the on-going movement control order (MCO), he said SMEs contribute 40% to the national economy.
“The initiatives should be extended to all businesses that are badly affected during this economic slump and additional measures should be extended to the businesses involved in the hospitality, food and beverage, tourism and aviation sectors,” he said in a statement.
“With the exception of those categorised as ‘essential services’, all other business activities have literally slowed or grind to a halt during this month-long MCO, which may be further extended should the number of infected cases continue to rise daily.”
Sarkunan said SMEs operating at premises owned by government-linked companies (GLCs) could enjoy rent exemption or discounts, although the quantum of discounts or rental exemption for these SMEs are unclear at this moment.
He applauded the government’s direction of encouraging private property owners to provide at least 30% rental discounts to SMEs during the MCO and three months after it ends by granting these landlords equivalent tax deductions.
However, he pointed out that this creates an issue for landlords having to verify if their tenants are SMEs or not. It is better for this relief be extended to all businesses since the balance 60% contribution to the national economy is other than SMEs.
“We regret that this initiative is purely for SME tenants only and urged the government to extend it to all tenants as they also facing challenges in sustaining their businesses amid this unprecedented event. All companies, small or big, are important for the country’s economy, no one should be left out,” Sarkunan added.
