Helping businesses get back on their feet
KUALA LUMPUR: From covering administrative costs to spring cleaning — this is how a tour agency and a homestay owner are planning to use the special financial aid provided under the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and Economy (Pemerkasa) package.
KTNB Travel and Tour agent Muhammad Faizal Padil said the fund was timely as it would assist him and other industr y players, who have been severely hit due to the pandemic, to stay afloat.
“We have been staring at losses for the past one year. But we still have to maintain the salary of our workers and pay the office rental as well as utilities.
“This assistance comes as a surprise and relief and it will help in settling some of our monthly bills such as electricity. This would help us tide through for about three months. We are grateful. It is better than nothing,” he said.
Faizal was responding to the RM3,000 one-off special assistance which would benefit more than 5,000 tour agencies registered with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac).
Sungai Haji Dorani Homestay owner Abdul Rahman Daud said he would use the funds to engage cleaning services for the 11 units of homestay properties he owns in Sungai Besar, Sabak Bernam.
“There is no doubt it would ease my financial burden as we have taken a break for a long time because of the pandemic.
“We are going to require a huge amount of money to restart the entire
business, so the aid can be used to clean up the homes and beautify the surroundings,” said Rahman.
While expressing gratitude for the assistance, Faizal and Rahman felt that more could be done to revive the industry, and that opening domestic and international borders was the only answer to bringing the industry back to life.
“We hope that the government can consider opening up the country to foreign travellers. It should be limited to countries that have successfully brought the virus under control.
Rahman said his homestay business had stopped receiving long-term bookings from out of state tourists due to the interstate travel ban.
“I had bookings for a night or two, but
I do not have anymore now. I hope the Selangor borders will be reopened soon so I can recoup my losses. Otherwise, I guess I will have to wait for the Hari Raya crowd, if the Covid-19 situation improves,” he said.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said she was confident that the Pemerkasa initiative could inject enthusiasm in the sector.
She supported Muhyiddin’s assurance that the government would allow interstate travel in stages when a large number of the population had been vaccinated.
She said it would not be too long for this to materialise and the government would also create a special green lane for interstate air travel.