MCO: MEF calls on govt to reintroduce measures to keep economy afloat

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has urged the government to consider reintroducing the employment retention programme, wage subsidy programme and loan moratorium, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

In light of the latest round of the Movement Control Order (MCO), the survivability of most companies very much hinges on the support employers and industries receive from the government, said MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman.

“We have given the government our views on the impact of a full-scale MCO on both large companies and SMEs, and the great difficulties that we are all still facing,” he said in a statement yesterday.

In a special address, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the MCO will be enforced from Jan 13-26, 2021 in six states, namely Penang, Selangor, the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Melaka, Johor and Sabah.

During the same period, Conditional MCO (CMCO) would be enforced in Pahang, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan, while Perlis and Sarawak would be placed under the Recovery MCO (RMCO).

Syed Hussain noted that the measures introduced during the MCO in March 2020 should be reintroduced this time around as the current wage subsidy programme is only applicable to the hotel and retail sectors.

“At the end of the day, human life is sacred and we must all come together to support what is right for the people and our nation,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the federation has called on all employers to abide strictly by the latest MCO enforcement, which is part of the government’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to flatten the curve of new infections and fatalities.

– BERNAMA