KUCHING: The movement control orders (MCOs) imposed in Sarawak at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic affected 64.8 percent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) which suffered losses.
This was the conclusion of a survey conducted by the Ministry of International Trade, Industry and Investment on the effects of COVID-19 on SMEs, which included micro-entrepreneurs, petty merchants, and hawkers, said its minister Datuk Malcolm Mussen Lamoh.
“Similar data from the Department of Statistics, which indicated 67.8 percent of enterprises in Malaysia, including SMEs, had registered no income over the same time, lent credence to this.
“The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) has also reported 3,641 companies in Sarawak have wound up (court and voluntarily winding up petition) between 2020 and 2022,” he said in reply to Safiee Ahmad (PBB-Daro) during question period in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) session today.
Malcolm said the state government had channelled the RM6.7 billion Bantuan Khas Sarawakku Sayang (BKSS) packages to lessen the effects of the epidemic.
Also included in the PRIHATIN, PENJANA, PERMAI, PERKASA, and PEMULIH packages were other forms of aid from the federal government.
“The ministry has also provided 10,500 entrepreneurs with assistance totalling RM187.59 million since 2020,” he added.
