AN association that represents more than 20,000 coffee shop operators in Malaysia is calling on the government to table a pro-business budget in the upcoming parliamentary session.

Malaysia Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association president Wong Teu Hoon said in a statement that several factors such as higher food prices and the weakening ringgit had severely affected their business.

He called for a government solution to their problem.

“As predicted by several industry players, food prices are projected to increase further in the third quarter of 2023 due to Malaysia’s reliance on imports for ingredients and the weak ringgit against the US dollar,” Wong said.

“Apart from that, increasing cost on business operations will inevitably further fuel the price hike due to the introduction of minimum wage hike, the increase in utility bills and others.

“We strongly urge the government to introduce incentives and long-term solutions in addressing these issues in Budget 2024.”

He said the association hoped that the budget, to be tabled on October 13, would steer the economy to safeguard the country’s future.

“We sincerely hope Budget 2024 will be a budget for people and alleviate our livelihood in the years to come,” he said. – October 4, 2023.