KUCHING, Jan 3: Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) Kuching branch chairman Dato Sim Kiang Chiok believes that Sarawak’s transition into Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) today will bring greater confidence for businesses as more restrictions are lifted so that more physical business interactions are allowed subject to the standard operating procedures (SOP).
He said the manufacturing, construction, plantation, and economic sectors could resume their businesses at full capacity with less fear of further disruptions due to full lockdowns.
“Now businesses can start to restore, rebuild, and accelerate their growth. The government can provide more assistance to help facilitate operations, provide incentives, and instruct Bank Negara to relax lending rules by commercial banks so that viable but loss-making companies during the Covid-19 period can restructure, reschedule, and borrow to resume and restore their businesses,” he said in a statement.
Sim hoped for more assistance and programmes to help all sectors with the Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) 8.0.
He also believed the transition of Sarawak into Phase 4 of NRP now is timely and safe as the Covid-19 infection in the State is low, and Sarawak has achieved a high vaccination rate.
He noted the low Covid-19 infection rate in the State would reduce the pressure on the healthcare system in Sarawak, adding that the vaccination programmes and non-pharmaceutical control measures have helped combat the Covid-19 virus.
Sim also believed the transition is a step in the right direction to help Sarawakians restore their livelihood further and towards the pre-Covid-19 level.
Nonetheless, he reminded Sarawakians to be cautious and continue to abide by the SOP to prevent another surge of Covid-19 infections due to the Omicron variant. — DayakDaily
