PUTRAJAYA, Dec 3 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today called on all commercial banks not to take legal action against hawkers and petty traders who failed to repay their loans.

Instead, he said the banks should emulate the initiative taken by the financial institutions under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac), such as Bank Rakyat and SME Bank not to take any legal action against the group if they failed to make repayments until June 2022.

He said other financial institutions under the government such as Bank Simpanan Nasional and Bank Pembangunan were also asked to make a reasonable judgment on this matter as the micro traders were also badly affected and burdened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I hope other banks can emulate the action taken by the banks and financial institutions under Medac,” he said when launching the Keluarga Malaysia Hawkers and Petty Traders Day and Night market Transformation Programme here today.

The twinning programmes were aimed at helping the hawkers and petty traders to revive their businesses after two years of struggling with the pandemic. — Bernama