KKCCCI lauds PM’s call to reduce red tape
KOTA KINABALU: Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) president Datuk Michael Lui expressed support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s call to reduce red tape and bureaucracy in order to speed up economic recovery.
He said bureaucracy had hindered many businesses and individuals from receiving the assistances rendered by the government for those affected by Covid-19 and the Movement Control Order (MCO).
“The government should do away with unnecessary procedures during this critical period to expedite the decision-making process.”
Lui said the government had good policies in place that needed to be fine-tuned, whereas the ever-changing standard operating procedures (SOP) were confusing to the public and business owners.
He hoped that the government should provide clear guidelines on its policies, and at the same time, create an effective mechanism to coordinate the implementation process across ministries so that they did not work in silo.
He said the relevant government departments would hinder efforts to revive the economy and assist the business sectors that were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic if they were unable to effectively implement the government’s economic recovery plan.
Lui stressed that the government should look into assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that were struggling to survive during this economic downturn, as millions of workers were at risk of losing their jobs.
He said the government should roll out effective measures targeted at SMEs for business owners to regain their footing.
He said a country must possess economic stability to attract investors.
“Hence, the government should give businesses a boost of confidence to put our economy on the track for recovery.”
“The government has to implement measures that could help businesses through these trying times, including the wage subsidy programme, to improve the people’s livelihood.”
On the other hand, Lui said business owners and wage earners were still facing financial constraints even though economic activities have gradually been restored.
“Many businesses are experiencing a drastic drop in revenue, while some employees have lost their jobs.”
As such, he opined that majority of the employees in the private sector would not be able to pay their loans when the loan repayment moratorium ended in September.
He hoped that the government could further extend the loan repayment moratorium for at least six months given the cash flow constraints faced by businesses and those who have become unemployed owing to Covid-19.
“The government, especially the Finance Ministry, should take the initiative to implement a more flexible loan repayment mechanism with banking institutions to ease the financial burden of businesses and the people, rather than suggesting banks to negotiate with their clients.”