Sharom
KOTA KINABALU: Companies involved in the business of events management, light, sound and screen rentals that are affected by the movement control order (MCO) in Sabah are begging the government for help.
One of them is Haji Sharom Abd Ghaffar who said that since the enforcement of the first to third phases of the MCO, they have not been able to get any bookings due to the MCO and due to adherence to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
“Imagine, since last year we have not gotten any bookings from any organisers but our companies have to pay the wages of our workers, most of whom have families as well as continue paying for loans for equipment bought. Of course these affects any companies in the sector,” he said on Saturday.
Sharom who is also the managing director of Syarikat SR Events Production, said that the sector has been ignored by the government to receive any help or grants as announced by the government to other industries such as tourism, transportation, agriculture and others.
“We were still able to withstand the first and second phases but now during the third phase, many of us are facing critical problems and it’s not impossible that we may have to wind up our operations,” he said.
Sharom who represented others in the same sector, appealed to the State and federal governments to not leave them out from receiving aids and grants.
“Our income depends entirely on rentals for events organised by the government and the private sector. If there are no events then there in no income for us. If there is aid from the government, we may be able to sustain our operations until Covid-19 is addressed,” he said.