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KOTA KINABALU: Sabah employers have urged the government to immediately reinstate the loan repayment moratorium for the business community, as most of the state is expected to enter a partial shutdown soon.
Sabah Employers Association President Yap Cheen Boon said liquidity is key for any business to survive.
With the state’s east coast and west coast, which it said were key contributing economic areas for Sabah, under the motion control order, more than 40,000 businesses would suffer more due to hampered market activity.
“With the bank loan moratorium ending prematurely, the pressure to pay wages and bills despite very low earnings will push many companies to the brink,” he said when contacted.
“Therefore, it is imperative that the state government makes efforts without delay to recover the moratorium from October to March next.”
Yap said this was to help individual and business borrowers overcome the dire circumstances in Sabah, which were considered worse than those on the mainland.
“This is in addition to crucial assistance, such as the automatic salary subsidy from October to December and the cash payment to the B40 group to ensure that everyone subsists,” he said.
The federal government previously announced that four East Coast districts in Sabah, Lahad Datu, Tawau, Kunak and Semporna, were placed under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (TEMCO) from September 29 to October 12.
Additionally, Kota Kinabalu, Penampang and Putatan will be placed under the conditional movement control order (CMCO) starting at midnight tonight.
Yap said that the partial lockdown was a necessary post-election measure, but that it would unfortunately take a heavy toll on Sabah’s fragile economy.
“Last year, Sabah’s economy was almost stagnant with up to 10% of businesses closed and unemployment at levels not seen since 2005,” he said.
“This year, we’ve seen many months of stasis, and just as things are slowly improving, these motion control orders could be the proverbial final nail for many bosses.
“The lack of leadership with the new government is certainly not helping, when they have been considered seeking immediate rescue measures from the federal government.”
Three districts under CMCO
Only taxi and email services will be able to operate in Kota Kinabalu, Putatan and Penampang when CMCO starts tonight.
Sabah Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) Chairman Chin Kim Hiung said that food delivery services could also operate in these areas from October 7 to 20.
“The hours of operation for taxis and email services are from 6 am to 8 pm every day, while food delivery services will be from 6 am to 6 pm,” Chin said in a statement here today.
Other public transport services such as minibuses, express buses and charter vehicles will be stopped until October 20, he said, adding that they were also banned from entering the three districts during this time.
Chin also said that the Sabah CVLB office would be closed during this period and that all passengers and drivers of taxis and electronic transport must comply with the SOPs stipulated by the relevant authorities.
