PETALING JAYA: Prolonged delays in the disbursement of claims under the MSME Digitalisation Grant Madani 2025 are placing financial strain on both businesses and technology providers, says the SME Association of Malaysia.
In a statement yesterday, SME Association of Malaysia national president Chin Chee Seong said the delays had escalated into a “serious and urgent issue affecting both the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) community and the wider digital ecosystem in Malaysia”.
Chin noted the initiative was introduced as a positive measure to assist MSMEs in adopting digital solutions through a 50% matching grant mechanism, with businesses funding the remaining 50%.
He added based on the process communicated to stakeholders, once an MSME received approval, made its payment, and the appointed digitalisation partner completed the delivery, the balance grant portion was expected to be disbursed within one to two weeks upon claims processing.
Nonetheless, Chin said the feedback received from affected parties showed that a significant majority of claims remain unpaid even after more than six months, far beyond the timeline that was originally communicated.
“More concerning is the absence of any clear timeline or firm assurance as to when these approved claims will be settled.
“This prolonged delay has caused severe hardship to over 400 qualified digitalisation partners, many of whom have already fully delivered the approved solutions and absorbed 100% of the implementation costs and cashflow burden.
“The continued uncertainty over payment is now creating serious operational strain and financial pressure on these service providers,” Chin said.
Chin stated at the same time more than 10,000 MSMEs that had received approval under this grant programme are also being adversely affected. He said some affected MSMEs are reportedly being asked to bear the remaining 50% payment themselves, despite the original grant approval.
“This creates an unexpected financial burden and exposes businesses to service suspension, support disruption, late payment interest, debt recovery actions, or even legal proceedings,” he said.
Chin said the association strongly urges the government to take “immediate and decisive action,” which includes issuing an official explanation immediately on the status of all outstanding claims, the reasons for the backlog, and the remedial steps being taken.
Moreover, it also entails providing a firm and transparent disbursement timeline for all approved claims. The association is also calling on the government to accelerate payments urgently, including prioritising long-overdue cases.
