Landlords urged to heed advice on reducing or waiving rentals
SIBU: Sibu MP Oscar Ling hopes that landlords will heed the advice of Economic Action Council (EAC) in the Prime Minister’s Office to consider reducing or waiving rental for businesses affected by the movement control order (MCO).
He said many businesses, notably the retail sector, have been seriously affected by the MCO and are finding it hard to survive for at least the next six months.
“Landlords should be understanding, show concern and lend a helping hand to ensure that the retail sector will be able to pull through during this difficult period,” he added.
Ling was referring to the directive issued by EAC that urged landlords to consider reducing or waiving rent for businesses due to the challenges posed by Covid-19 and MCO.
He said Bank Negara Malaysia had previously announced that all individual and personal loan repayments would be automatically delayed for six months starting April, although interest will still accrue.
“In a way, these landlords are already given the exemption to delay their loan repayment. So they should also consider the plight of the retail sector by either reducing or waiving the rental charges.”
By adopting a give-and-take attitude, Ling said the landlords could also play the role of savior of the country’s economy which could otherwise be disastrous to the businessmen.
He said any waiver of rental, at least during the MCO period, could inject confidence into the market to contain the economic fallout from covid-19.
Last week, the Perikatan Nasional government unveiled the RM250 billion Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package to address the economic fallout Covid-19, which pundits have speculated could trigger a global recession.
Meanwhile, Ling, together with state DAP deputy chairman David Wong yesterday morning handed over personal protection equipment (PPE) to Sibu Hospital in a bid to fight Covid-19.
The PPEs included 480 isolation gowns, 1,200 plastic aprons, 5,000 face shields and one ripple bed cushion.
Matrons Fatimah and Florence represented the hospital to collect the PPEs from the DAP.