PETALING JAYA: The Madani framework will spur the economy and drive greater growth, including for the SMEs, says the Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (Samenta).
Samenta president William Ng said the market had been lacklustre since the end of the pandemic and the new framework would provide a much-needed direction for the economy.
“We have been saying for a while that the biggest challenge for SMEs is low margins resulting from lagging productivity – not weak cash flow or the lack of business opportunities.
“The government is right in trying to correct the labour mismatch and improving wages while mandating upskilling and encouraging lifelong learning.
“When productivity improves, businesses will be able to pay far more and everybody will win,” Ng said in a statement released today.
“The additional RM100 million for digitalisation, RM20 million for market development and the mid-tier companies development programme, and RM400 million in additional microfinancing will come in handy as we encourage our SMEs to digitalise, reduce our dependence on workers and globalise,” he said.
According to Ng, SMEs are wary of the planned progressive wage model.
“We agree that wages are too low and must be revised, but this cannot be done rashly. It must be accompanied by improvement in productivity and profit margins.
“Much of the reason for wage stagnation is structural in nature – a declining learning culture, a general mismatch in educational output and industry needs, a changed workforce and intense regional competition for talent.
“These cannot be solved by simply forcing businesses to pay more,” Ng added.
Ng also said the nation needed to move away from the “Made-in-Malaysia” narrative to an “Innovated-in-Malaysia” paradigm.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today announced the unity government’s drive to make Malaysia one of the leading destinations for investments in the world.
Speaking at the launch of his vision for a new Madani economy, Anwar said it was imperative that the country introduce reforms to make Malaysia one of the top 12 economies in the world in terms of competitiveness and ease of doing business.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/07/27/madani-framework-will-spur-economy-and-drive-growth-says-samenta/