The prime minister said he had discussed the matter of aid to small businesses with the finance minister. ― Picture by Hari Anggara
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — The federal government is considering channelling funds to businesses that have closed down, to enable them to have the capital to start their business again as the economy reopens further, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.
Ismail Sabri said he had discussed this with Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, noting that the government usually gives one-off aid to businesses but said this was insufficient.
“But for businesses, one-off aid is not enough, if they are micro (businesses), receiving RM3,000 one-off helps them in terms of sustaining their lives, but when the economy opens up further, we see many micro-businesses have already closed down their businesses.
“So they need capital to start up their business. So I have discussed with the Finance Minister so that the government can give assistance, capital to start the business again,” he said during an interview aired live on television tonight.
He said that this matter was now being discussed, in terms of the mechanism, such as whether “there is no need to pay, moratorium on principal or interest”, adding that the percentage for interest is also being studied and that the aid is intended to allow businesses to start up once the funds are given.
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