KUCHING: While the National Recovery Plan (NRP) is generally welcomed, the government is urged to ensure that the implementation is easily understood by the people.
“It is good to have such a plan. At least we have something to target and work towards,” said president of the Federation of Kuching, Samarahan and Serian Divisions Chinese Associations, Datuk Richard Wee, when contacted today (June 16).
Having said that, he urged the government to provide clearer details of the business sectors which would be allowed to operate in the various phases of the plan.
He noted that at different phases of the plan, only certain sectors are permitted to operate.
“It would be better if the government can be more specific rather than issuing general statements saying that certain business sectors are allowed to reopen at different stages and so on.
“With that, those sectors allowed to operate will be able to plan,” he said.
Wee noted that the NRP was a conditional or rolling plan which is not carved in stone as the timelines depended on whether certain targets were met.
“Although the government has indicated that certain phases will be in certain months, it would very much depend on the number of cases and the pandemic situation in general,” he said.
In view of this, he stressed that vigilant and disciplined implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) would still be required to ensure that the targets are met before each of the phases can be implemented.
At the same time, he once again urged the government to consider providing financial assistance to sole proprietors as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the recovery period.
“They are really having a very tough time now and these are the sectors which currently require government assistance,” said Wee.
The NRP was announced by the prime minister on Tuesday (June 15), covering four phases.
