Stumbling block for SMEs

PETALING JAYA: A week after the government announced an additional RM10bil allocation for small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), bureaucracy in applying for government aid is proving to be a stumbling block in helping businesses survive. The execution of the aid packages was “still a big problem” as the government and the banking sector were laden with bureaucracy, said SME Association of Malaysia president Datuk Michael Kang (pic).

“I hope all government servants and bankers can change their mindset into firefighting mode instead of remaining in their bureaucracy mode. By the time we follow all the bureaucracy and procedures, our economy is gone, ” he said yesterday.