Over 30k SMEs have shuttered since the beginning of MCO, Parliament told

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 32,469 small medium and enterprises (SMEs) have folded since March when the movement control order (MCO) was first implemented to stem Covid-19, says the Entrepreneurship Development and Cooperatives Ministry.

The Ministry, quoting statistics by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), said that 9,675 SMEs shut down operations during the first phase of the MCO from March 18 to June 9.

During the recovery MCO phase from June till September, 22,794 SMEs shut down.

August recorded the highest figure, with 17,800 SMEs folding during that month.

The Ministry gave the statistics in a Parliamentary written reply dated Nov 5 in response to June Leow (PH-Hulu Selangor), who asked the number of SMEs that have folded since the MCO was enforced.

Meanwhile, the Ministry said its survey found that micro entrepreneurs were the most affected by the Covid-19 economic fallout, as a majority of them still have yet to receive government assistance.

To address this issue, it has proposed the government increase the current special Covid-19 financial relief to entrepreneurs.

It also proposed expanding product development training and diversifying promotional programmes and marketing hubs to increase product demand and market access.