Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai called the E&E sector the “golden goose” of the Malaysian economy, especially in current times of macroeconomic weakness.
The urgent call for help came following the warning from the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry late last month that some 580,000 businesses, or 49% of the micro, small and medium enterprises , are at risk of failing by October, if they are not allowed to open up their operations by then.
“The majority of business sectors are based in the Greater Klang Valley, which is still seeing daily cases above 10,000 and currently categorised as in phase one.Speaking with Starbiz, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Datuk R. Ramanathan said the announcement by the Prime Minister was not well received by the industry.
Muhyiddin in his latest televised speech said the easing of restrictions for the economic sectors will be announced very soon. Soh expressed confidence that the Klang Valley will transition to phase two of the NRP “very soon”, driven by the ongoing “Operation Surge Capacity” to ramp up vaccinations in the populous Klang Valley.
Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai also called for companies to be allowed to operate at higher capacities based on the full vaccination rates. In the case of MSIA, he highlighted that 50% of its members’ workforce have already received the first dose of vaccine, and about 26% are fully inoculated.
In assisting businesses to reopen, following prolonged business closures, Wong urged the government to extend additional help to all industry players, regardless of their sizes. “When the market reopens after a hiatus, demand becomes higher with limited supply, thus causing higher inflation and cost of living to the people,” he said.
The general public will find it impossible to avoid contracting Covid virus if business restrictions are all lifted overnight.