AFTER seeing their income plunge to zero over the past 10 days, hawkers and petty traders are grateful for the second stimulus package but have expressed concern over the distribution of the aid.

They are afraid that unnecessary red tape would stymie their applications for assistance, as has occurred in the past.

The coronavirus and consequent movement control order (MCO) was a hammer blow to most of them who are, among others, burger stall holders, goreng pisang sellers and night market traders.

They said micro-credit financing schemes in the second stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday will help them weather the tough weeks ahead as the MCO has shut down non-essential services and forced their usual customers to stay home.

Cash aid is expected to benefit low- and middle-income households with incomes of below RM8,000 a month.

“It is a very pro-small traders stimulus and will help us out during the tough times,” said Small Traders Network Association (Ikhlas) president Ridzwan Abdullah.

“But we have one worry – distribution. We are worried that at the top, the prime minister announces all these good programmes but at the bottom, civil servants don’t implement them well,” said Ridzwan.

“Red tape at the middle and lower levels of the civil service will make it hard for micro-businesses to apply and to understand the guidelines,” said Ridzwan, who oversees more than 100,000 members in Ikhlas.

“I’ve received so many calls including from Sabah and Sarawak on the difficulty of applying for government programmes. So I hope this won’t happen with the stimulus because it is very critical we get it out in time.”

Putrajaya yesterday announced a second stimulus package that included RM4.5 billion in rent and fee exemptions and financing to help, small, medium and micro businesses deal with the fallout of the coronavirus.

Micro-businesses such as hawkers, online and market traders and even nurseries will be eligible for a micro-credit scheme offered by Bank Simpanan Nasional.

Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan (SJPP) will also prepare a RM5 billion guarantee facility and increase the guarantee rate to 80% from 70% for SMEs which are having difficulty sourcing funds.

For households, the government is giving out a one-time cash transfer of RM1,600 for those earning below RM4,000 per month and RM1,000 for families with incomes between RM4,000 and RM8,000 per month.
 
Federation of Hawkers and Petty Traders Association Malaysia president Yow Boon Choon said traders appreciated the fact that the government is announcing additional help in the second stimulus.

“Many of us have not been allowed to operate because the pasar malam are closed. So we have no income,” said Yow.

“We are happy with the government’s announcement of cash aid to low- and middle-income households because many of us have lost our incomes,” said Yow.

As part of efforts to break the chain of Covid-19 transmissions, the government has put the country in partial lockdownuntil April 14.

Only a handful of essential businesses, such as utilities, food production, healthcare and transport, are allowed to operate during the period.

Micro-businesses are the worst hit due to their reliance on daily cash transactions. – March 29, 2020.