SMALL and Medium Enterprises Association Malaysia (Samenta) today urged the government to reopen the meetings and events industry. 

Samenta central chairman Wiliam Ng said this would help thousands of SMEs in the sector to recover quickly from economic ravages of the pandemic.

“We need trade exhibitions and business conferences to reconvene, for our SMEs to rapidly get back into the global supply chain and secure raw materials and equipment,” Ng said in a statement today.

“Internet sourcing is not as effective as physical trade shows in sourcing for new clients and vendors.”

Ng’s call follows the reopening of the retail, food and beverage, manufacturing, construction, and tourism sectors, which are allowed to operate in varying capacities. 

“The prolonged lockdown has resulted in most SMEs running out of cash, with many having laid-off or retrenched their employees. 

“Operational restriction has also resulted in many global clients resorting to dropping Malaysian suppliers in favour of vendors from other markets,” Ng said. 

While many economic activities have resumed as restrictions are eased in more states and territories under the national recovery plan, activities involving large crowds such as exhibitions and events are still barred.

Yesterday the Health Ministry reported 14,554 new Covid-19 cases.

According to the CovidNow website, there are 195,837 active cases in the country. – September 25, 2021.