Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar
KUCHING (June 25): The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Co-operatives is currently in talks with the National Security Council (MKN) to put micro entrepreneurs and informal business operators on the priority list for the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
Minister Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the majority of these business operators are in service sectors that deal directly with the public and should therefore also be recognised as front-liners.
He said for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to be truly effective, MKN must also acknowledge sectors — other than health, security, and defence — with similarly high levels of exposure to Covid-19.
This also includes the front-liners working in the economic sector, such as those working at the counters in banks, customer service staff, as well as petty traders selling food and beverages to the public, he said in a press statement today.
“When I was appointed as the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Co-operatives, my priority was to look into the interests of micro and informal businesses because their plight and grievances are rarely heard and yet they account for a huge portion of the SME sector.
“These groups are the ones who are closely deal with the public, which makes them highly exposed to the spread of the virus. They too should be given priority to get the vaccination. We hope MKN can assist us in this,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said both he and ministry secretary-general Datuk Suriani Ahmad have written to the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to arrange for vaccinations for micro and informal business operators.
He said the ministry’s top management will also be discussing with representatives from the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) on how to help these groups to get vaccinated.
There are currently close to two million micro and informal businesses nationwide, which provide employment to more than seven million people.
More than 78 per cent of the country’s SME sector is made up of micro businesses.