3 April 2020

Press statement by MCA National Youth Chairperson Nicole Wong Siaw Ting

Covid-19: MCA Youth urges government to support youth entrepreneurs’ startups

In the upcoming addition to the economic stimulus package, which is supposed to focus on helping SMEs, MCA Youth hopes that young entrepreneurs and their budding businesses will also receive adequate support. Often, these young entrepreneurs face financial issues, not to mention, the difficulty of applying for loans with a short operation record.

Besides granting various tax and levy exemptions, the government can consider a more direct method: low interest or zero-interest loans, so that they would have cash in their hands for whatever emergency issues they are going through.

After two weeks of MCO, with another two more weeks to go, the market has practically come to a halt, causing severe problems for various businesses.

The market may have stopped, but necessary expenses have to continue, including paying salaries, rent, utility bills, taxes etc. With all these expenses but no profits or income, it is not sustainable for long.

Some businesses run on just half-month to 1-month savings, while larger-scale companies may have more; but all these savings pale in comparison to the crisis we have now.

A significant component of fresh startups are part of the SMEs, and SMEs account for more than 90% of enterprises nationwide, employing more than 70% of Malaysians.

These fresh startups will influence the nation’s future. Thus the government must help them weather this storm so that they can continue to grow and one day brings Malaysia’s economy to newer heights.

Nicole Wong Siaw Ting

MCA National Youth Chairperson

-MCA online-