By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, April 8: Wage subsidies which has been the most effective measure in assisting the business community to stay afloat during the Covid-19 outbreak should be included in the post-Covid-19 exit plan or post-Covid-19 stimulus plan even after the pandemic abates.
Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations president Dato Richard Wee hoped to see such measures continued until Sarawak’s or Malaysia’s economy experiences a certain degree of recovery.
“The many packages announced by the federal (government) as well as Sarawak government all helped one way or another, especially the B40 group, during the pandemic.
“For the SMEs (small and medium enterprises), the most impactful measure is the wage subsidy package which really helps many SMEs to stay afloat and stopped retrenchment, especially in the food and beverage sector.
“It is thus my hope that when the governments (both Sarawak and federal) are formulating their post-Covid-19 economic exit plan, they will continue with this measure for a period of time, to help businesses to recover,” Wee told DayakDaily.
Wee hoped that as the national immunisation programme continues to gain steam, the end of Covid-19 will be in sight.
“With vaccinations, at least, we have the hope that the pandemic days may be over. At least, we can see the ray of light at the end of the tunnel.”
In the meantime, he opined that both both federal and Sarawak governments should prepare post-Covid-19 economic exit plan.
“For Sarawak, the Sarawak Economic Action Council should start planing for a Covid-19 exit plan. Of course, this is not the time to announce it but SEAC can finetune it so that it may be the most effective exit plan for Sarawakians.
“And I believe that the Covid-19 exit plan should be an economic stimulus package where the major thrust focuses on stimulating various sectors. With various sectors reviving, the whole economy may move towards a positive upward trend.
“It is possible. The Covid-19 pandemic has taken us by surprise but everywhere, economies in other parts of the world show that the initial bounce back was stronger and sooner than expected,” said Wee. — DayakDaily
