Govt urged to introduce more stimulus packages
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah China Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) has urged the government to introduce more economic stimulus packages and other measures to support the people’s livelihood and businesses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its president Datuk Frankie Liew said 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year.
“Besides the political turmoil in Malaysia, the world was confronted with the Covid-19 pandemic which not only impacted livelihoods, but also inflicted severe damage to businesses.
“Covid-19 has resulted in a wave of business closures and mass layoffs.
“Many people and businesses are hanging by a thread, trying to survive the pandemic,” he said in his Chinese New Year message yesterday.
Liew hoped that the government would introduce more economic stimulus packages to alleviate the burden of the people and help businesses stay afloat.
He also called on the government to implement more measures to support the people and businesses through these trying times, particularly relaxing the criteria for financing.
Despite the financial relief offered by banks, such as moratorium on loan repayments, he said businesses were still facing cash flow constraints as the Covid-19 pandemic raged on.
On the other hand, Liew said the pandemic has entirely transformed conventional business models as consumers now tend to shop online.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic a year ago, Liew said the government has imposed various forms of movement control order (MCO) to encourage people to stay at home and work from home to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“This has inevitably transformed the consumption pattern of consumers, who now shop online more than ever.
“Many businesses have no choice but to shift their marketing online, leading to the emergence of more and more e-businesses and related services such as e-hailing, food delivery, online retail and courier services.”
Recently, Liew said many countries have rolled out Covid-19 vaccines and began inoculating their citizens against the virus, including China.
He said Malaysia has also procured Covid-19 vaccines from the United States and China, which were expected to arrive by March this year.
“Before the vaccination programme is implemented, we should all be disciplined and comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP) to stem the spread of the virus.
“We hope that the pandemic will be over soon for people’s lives to return to normalcy.”
He continued to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has heightened uncertainty over the economy on a global scale, sending most countries into negative growth.
However, he said China’s success in containing the pandemic early on enabled the country to rebound from the economic slump.
“Last year, China was the first country to grow its economy after Covid-19.”
He added that China has recently signed a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 10 ASEAN countries, as well as Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Together, the 15 countries make up close to onethird of the global gross domestic product (GDP), making RCEP as the world’s largest trading bloc that will bring tremendous business opportunities, he said.
As China’s Belt and Road initiative continues to expand, Liew urged the people in Sabah to seize the opportunity to strengthen trade, cooperation and exchanges between Sabah and China, particularly in tourism development.
“I believe Chinese tourists will return to Sabah as soon as the pandemic is over.
“I have confidence that our tourism industry will reach new heights again.”
On another note, Liew hoped that the government will uphold fairness and openness in the implementation of policies to preserve unity and harmony in our culturally and racially diverse country.
He also hoped that the government would practise moderation and openness by providing allocation to support the development of Chinese education in recognition of the schools’ contribution in grooming future talents of our country.