KUCHING, April 22: The Federation of The Chinese Associations Sarawak calls on the government to waive license fees and provide auxiliary subsidies to the entertainment industry in order to reduce the losses faced by the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its treasurer Aaron Tay Kok Tung in a statement today said the entertainment industry, including massage centers, bars, karaoke restaurants and other entertainment venues, would be the first ones to bear the brunt of the pandemic.
“As the Covid-19 situation gradually intensifies, they would be among the first few industries to be shut down by the government, even though these entertainment venues are not responsible for the infection outbreaks.
“According to analysis, it has been more than a year since the Movement Control Order was implemented in March last year. However, the entertainment industry has only been able to operate for less than five months, but they still have to pay for various fees, making the industry unable to make ends meet, and are depleting money at a rapid pace,” he said.
“Therefore, the government should provide supplementary subsidies for these industries, including exemption of license fees and granting employee allowances for the industry, while also taking practical measures to assist these industries,” he added.
At the same time, Tay also welcomed the various prevention measures implemented by the government in order to stop the outbreak and spread of Covid-19.
However, he said, the government should also consider the different problems faced by various industries and provide appropriate solutions for them to achieve a win-win situation.
On another note, Tay called on the Sarawak government to restrict any entry into Sarawak during the current outbreak.
“At the same time, the Sarawak government should also speed up the pace of the vaccination process in Sarawak so that the goal of achieving 70 per cent of Sarawakians’ being successfully vaccinated can be accomplished,” he said. — DayakDaily
