MCO: Hair salon owners need govt financial help, says association

PETALING JAYA: After months without an income, hair salon owners are turning to ah long or moneylenders to survive after they were ordered to close due to the movement control order (MCO).

Many of them either do not qualify for government financial aid or the approval for it was taking too long.

Malaysia Hair Salon Owners Association (Mahas) chairman AK Selvan said while hair salon owners and barbers respected the government’s stand in not allowing them to operate during the MCO period, they are unable to survive without a special financial allocation.

Although there are grants and loans provided under the government’s Prihatin Plus Stimulus Package for SMEs, Selvan said the approval process would take too long.

“Not every hair salon operator is guaranteed to receive the aid, but every one of us needs the assistance from the government.

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“Many of us are turning to ah long for help to survive and some of these illegal moneylenders charge 20% in interest monthly.

“For example, if we ask for a loan of RM10,000, these ah long will

give us only RM8,000 while the remaining RM2,000 is considered interest.

“This is difficult for us. Many of us have no choice because we have no income and we are not receiving help although we are drowning (in debt), ” he said when contacted yesterday.

Selvan said the association would seek the government’s help to allocate a special fund for hair salon owners.