KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Kota Sentosa Branch chairman Wilfred Yap has commended the state government’s post Covid-19 economic exit strategy, but is of the view that these plans are too long-term and do not address the immediate economic impacts resulting from Covid-19.
Sharing his opinions on the economic exit strategy announced by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg on Wednesday, Yap said the state government should conduct a proper survey with all the industry players to get a better picture of the immediate and anticipated problems post movement control order (MCO).
As an example, he said that the state’s road map did not address the anticipation or likelihood of failure of businesses and loss of jobs in the food and beverage, tourism, and hotel sectors.
He suggested that these surveys should be conducted at the grassroots level and as online surveys, rather than solely engaging with stakeholders who may not be in touch with the actual situation on the ground.
“Engagement through surveys with the man on the street would give a better reflection of the severity of actual problems as they arise. With this correct data, the Sarawak government can better tailor the appropriate relief measures at the targeted groups,” he said.
He said that these surveys should cut across all sectors of the economy but should exclude individuals under government employment as this would affect the accuracy of the surveys.
“This is because the Covid-19 pandemic has no impact on the income of government employees,” he explained.
With regard to the state’s Economic Action Council, he said its majority composition should comprise members from the private sector and less from the public sector or politicians.
“It would be good if the Sarawak government can provide a further supplementary short-term financial assistance to severely affect small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sarawak where existing federal and state financial aid is inadequate – to ensure the preservation of jobs for the short to medium term until the economy recovers,” he said.
Yap, who is also SUPP Public Complaints Bureau chief, noted that the current federal government fiscal stimulus to mitigate Covid-19 appeared inadequate especially for some economic sectors peculiar to Sarawak.
“In this regard, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) should study the inadequacies of the federal government aid and come up with its own stimulus packages for the areas adversely affected,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the state government should not use all its financial resources at once but instead adjust to the ever-changing economic situation post MCO.
He added that financial assistance and support granted should be based on the gravity and needs of the sectors, with emphasis on making sure that businesses of the affected sectors do not go bust and that jobs in these sectors are preserved for the short to medium term.
