'Without a loan Lee Beauty Saloon, Hj Salleh Mi Kolok, Surjit Kaur Company can only last a month'

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can survive only a month without bank loans to obtain cash assistance following the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

Malaysian Tax Accountants Association (MESA) president Datuk Abdul Aziz Abu Bakar said based on his estimates, the three examples of SME companies provided by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin would still find it difficult to survive if the MCO period was extended.

This is based on the assumption that 60 per cent of the total cost of the company is wages.

"SMEs, whether small and medium, will face big problems if the MCO is extended for more than a month," Abdul Aziz told Astro AWANI.

However, he hoped the companies could continue their operations starting in May.

At the same time, he believed the government-provided aid should at least help the entrepreneurs for now, so that they could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Normally 70 per cent of the cost of the services sector SMEs are wage pay-outs, so the subsidies announced by the Prime Minister are indeed helpful to businesses like this," he added.

In addition to wage costs, monthly rent payments and loan instalments were among the top three business costs borne by most local SMEs.

He also believed the wage subsidy announced on Monday was really trying to help small businesses.

On Monday, the Prime Minister announced additional measures to help the business sector hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak and the implementation of the MCO.

He announced a wage subsidy of RM600, RM800 and RM1,200 respectively for companies with more than 200 employees, ranging from 76 to 200 and under 75 employees.