KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — While the country is well on the path to economic recovery, many small-medium enterprises (SMEs) are still trying to find their footing as they were among the hardest hit the past two years.

However, it was the National Recovery Council’s (NRC) proactive recommendations to the government that helped these SMEs stay afloat.

In particular, those from the tourism sectors benefitted through border openings following a prolonged travel restriction, said NRC chief executive Tan Sri Sulaiman Mahbob in a recent interview.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said most if not all association members were forced to shutter their business as they were not considered an essential service.

"We had practically no business for more than two years. But to be fair, the federal government did try its best by encouraging domestic travel through various stimulus packages,” he told Malay Mail.

SMEs from the tourism sectors benefitted from two stimulus packages; namely, the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih) and the People and Economic Strategic Empowerment Programme (Pemerkasa).

Tan said benefits included tax reliefs and travel vouchers to stimulate domestic travel.

However, he lamented that financial aid such as the Penjana Tourism Financing (PTF) remained inadequate to support a substantial tourism ecosystem as financial institutions were still maintaining a cautious lending position.

As for the proposal of another special moratorium, Tan said it would be both timely and welcomed.

Many in the food and beverage sector said the timely opening of the economy and country’s borders as proposed by the NRC helped them survive in the long run.

KC Yeo, a restaurant owner in Petaling Jaya, said business is improving but pointed out that prices of produce and labour have also increased due to the shortage of manpower and depreciation of our currency.

The labour shortage issue has been reported before with NRC chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin himself calling out the government’s lack of urgency in dealing with the lack of foreign labour in the country.

As for the special moratorium, Yeo said it was a good move but warned that such initiatives are merely a temporary measure. He said that businesses must be cautious about defaulting on their loans if they are not earning enough.

"The more important thing is how to increase business, lower down costs, and remove unnecessary red tape in the (labour) hiring process,” Yeo explained.

Another businessman who did not want to be named said his bakery business in Petaling Jaya has improved but has yet to return to pre-pandemic level.

"Business has slightly improved but there are still days that are slow, in terms of sales and customers... we are still looking into ways in order to increase the sales and business as well,” he said.

Asked if a special moratorium should be re-introduced to uplift SMEs again, he said it would be welcomed but questioned its method of implementation.

Established on July 21 last year, the NRC is chaired by Muhyiddin. It comprises senior ministers, ministers, senior government officials, Opposition party representatives as well as economic, social and health experts.

The NRC’s main objective is to ensure every NRP can be achieved in a safe, orderly and inclusive manner for the wellbeing of Malaysians.

The council is refining NRP 2.0 to ensure the economy recovers, with a focus on people and sectors most affected by the pandemic, namely B40 households and SMEs.