MEDAC to present Cabinet paper on issues facing entrepreneurs

Its Minister, Tan Sri Noh Omar said this following a dialogue session held by MEDAC today with 52 entrepreneurs' associations and more than 100 association representatives as well as representatives from various ministries, including agencies under MEDAC, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) as well as the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT).

According to Noh, prior to the engagement session, MEDAC had received a total of 34 memoranda from various associations and chambers of commerce, and all the issues had been analysed and clustered into eight categories.

These include automation and digitisation, monetary policy and financing, market access, standard operating procedures, business facilitation, training and guidance, taxation as well as general issues that need attention from various ministries, he told the media today.

"Following that, MEDAC has made several plans to help entrepreneurs get involved, among others, by presenting a Cabinet paper as the official voice of these entrepreneur associations to be heard and given attention by the relevant ministries so that some bureaucratic problems can be eased.

"At the same time, the secretariat, which is led by the MEDAC secretary general, will get answers from other ministries and written answers will be given to the associations involved," he said.

Noh said in the current challenging environment when enterprises and businesses are facing a major impact from the pandemic, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the government had allocated assistance of RM147.1 billion starting from 2020.

"To ensure what is planned and allocated by the government reaches the target, MEDAC will continue to engage with associations to obtain feedback and ensure that government policies are implemented effectively," he said.

Meanwhile, during today's dialogue session, among the associations that raised the issue of its members were three spa operators' association and bus operators' association.

The minister said among the issues that will be prioritised in the Cabinet paper are matters raised by the bus operators on credit loans as well as vehicle hire purchases by credit loan companies.

He said the Money Lending Act had empowered KPKT to issue and renew licences and this would enable the ministry to monitor the operations of the money lending companies.

"But for hire purchase loans, it is under the Hire Purchase Act under the supervision of KPDNHEP. However, it does not give the ministry the authority to issue licences and so on.

"On this basis, I propose that a Consumer Credit Act should be created immediately and placed under KPDNHEP to enable the ministry to monitor the operations of the loan companies involved," Noh explained.

Meanwhile, he said that in an effort to restore MSMEs under MEDAC's supervision, his ministry is targeting 100 per cent of traders in UDA buildings, for example, to resume operations and 200,000 MSME entrepreneurs to receive the necessary assistance through 11 agencies under MEDAC by the end of this year.