DPMM to meet Bank Negara over ways to help entrepreneurs

The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM) will meet with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to discuss loan Rescheduling/Restructuring (RR) programme to assist entrepreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its deputy president, Norsyahrin Hamidon said among the matters to be discussed was the problem of loan records appearing in the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) and CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd (CTOS) report.

"BNM has agreed to offer targeted moratorium to borrowers after Sept 30 (when the moratorium period ends) which means not everyone will be eligible.

"We hope this measure will be extended to entrepreneurs who are impacted by the current Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) in order to ease their burdens.

"DPMM also hopes that Bank Negara would not take into account their credit records on CCRIS and CTOS since they were not due to negligence," he told reporters after attending the Penang DPMM Establishment Meeting, here, yesterday.

Norsyahrin also suggested that entrepreneur borrowers who are dealing with the Credit Counseling and Management Agency (AKPK) should not be blacklisted so that they would not face problems in the future when applying loans for the recovery of their businesses.

He said the chamber had estimated that more than 53 per cent, or about 450,000 of 960,000 Malay entrepreneurs registered with SME Corp were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Of that number, 70 per cent were involved in small scale enterprises, he added.

-- BERNAMA