Retailers are happy with the concessions made under the Prihatin Package for SMEs (additional measures) and the only fly in the ointment may be the application and qualifying process for the soft loans and wage subsidies.

The Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) president James Loke expressed gratitude at the concessions made in the RM10 billion stimulus package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) unveiled on April 6, saying that the revision would benefit retailers a good deal.

“We are grateful because with these criteria and conditions, more of our retailers will benefit from the wage subsidies. The majority of our retailer members have more than 100 employees, or even 200 employees,” he says.

Loke was referring to the salary subsidy under the Prihatin stimulus package, which has been expanded to RM13.8 billion from RM5.9 billion. Previously, the package only offered a subsidy of RM600 per worker earning RM4,000 a month and below, with a cap for the number of workers eligible based on the number of employees.

Now, it is even open to SMEs with more than 200 employees, with a wage subsidy of RM600 per worker for up to 200 workers or RM800 per employee for SMEs with between 76 and 200 staff. For SMEs with 75 employees or less, the subsidy has been increased to RM1,200 per employee.

There is a caveat, however. Employers who take up this assistance will have to retain their employees for six months, including the first three months when the subsidy is given out.

However, the retailers need to work with the relevant authorities to find out the details of these subsidies. “What are the conditions?” Loke asks.

He adds that he is happy that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has advised landlords to give more rebates to tenants, with tax incentives and discounts on their electricity bills. “Landlords should share the responsibility with us tenants. We are grateful that some landlords have started to offer rebates and we hope more will follow,” says Loke.

He says the government needs to think ahead to when the shops are reopened as it will take some time for retailers to build their businesses back up again. “I think Tenaga Nasional Bhd should give us more of a discount going forward. When the Movement Control Order (MCO) is lifted, traffic won’t be as good as normal. Hopefully, Tenaga could offer us a better discount while we rebuild our businesses.”

The Malaysian F&B Operators Alliance was equally thankful for the new measures and the extension of the wage subsidies. “I am relieved that the government actually does listen to us and that it addressed some of our most pressing concerns,” says spokesman Joshua Liew.

He was happy with the broadening of those eligible for wage subsidies. But as for rents (the other big expense), he is not surprised that the government had to resort to incentives to try and encourage landlords to either provide rebates or waive rents during the MCO period, he says.

However, like many others, Liew expressed reservations at the loan requirements as for many SMEs, a bridging loan is all that will guarantee cash flow during this time. “I am grateful to the government for listening to the plea of the SMEs and would appreciate it if it could provide a directive to banks to loosen the application requirements to speed up cash injections to affected companies.”

He calls out the RM3,000 special grant and 0% loan for micro-enterprises for special attention. “Though this is not applicable to me or most of our members, I believe it will provide a serious lifeline to micro-enterprises.”