TEEAM president Siew Choon Thye immediate financial aid to ease cash flow is key to the survival of these SMEs and to prevent them from going bust. — Bernama photo
KUCHING (June 16): The Electrical and Electronics Association of Malaysia (TEEAM) is calling on the government to urgently address the devastating economic impact on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry following the extension of the full lockdown in the country to June 28.
TEEAM president Siew Choon Thye said while the association lauds the government’s recent RM340 billion Permerkasa+ economic stimulus package to assist business and households, it said more needs to be done to financially assist E&E SMEs which are the backbone of the country’s economy and a major source of employment.
“Immediate financial aid to ease cash flow is key to the survival of these SMEs and to prevent them from going bust.
“We would like to propose the extension of the wage subsidy programme of RM1,000 per employee until the end of December 2021 to the E&E sector to help lighten the burden of the SMEs,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Siew also suggested that the government allow employers’ statutory payments such as Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Social Security Organisation (Sosco) to be deferred for six months until December 2021.
This, he explained, is to ensure sufficient cash flows are restored for the survival of SMEs.
“Thirdly, TEEAM proposes that the government allow the postponement of all outstanding tax payment to LHDN (Inland Revenue Board) and Customs until December 2021 and also reduce the tax payable for Year 2022, as well as temporarily suspend the penalty on tax payable of forecasted profit vs actual profit under these unforeseen circumstances to lessen the financial weight on SMEs,” he said.
The association also called for Sales and Service Tax (SST) exemption for local E&E manufacturers’ products and services (not limited to automotive only) effective June till December this year, saying this would help the survival of the manufacturers as well as improve cash flow and promote local products.
Lastly, TEEAM called for the loan moratorium to be extended until December 2021 to help SMEs ride through these difficult times.
“We are hopeful for the government to provide these crucial assistances to E&E SMEs to ensure we will be able to survive the pandemic and further assist the government in providing sustainable, longer-term economic solutions to all our fellow Malaysians,” said Siew.
TEEAM is the national representative body of the E&E industry in Malaysia. Established in 1952, it aims to work closely with all government departments, statutory bodies and the private sector to ensure and promote orderly growth and development of the E&E industry.