MORE new businesses have opened up compared to those closing down post the movement control order (MCO), according to the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry.
In a statement today, its minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said more than 200,000 new businesses were registered since March when the MCO was imposed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Based on the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s (SSM) report between March and October, a total of 31,190 business entities have filed for cessation.
“SSM itself has taken the initiative to revoke dormant companies under Section 551 of the Companies Act 2016 which saw the numbers rise to 35,944.
“However, SSM also registered a total of 281,781 new businesses during the same period,” he said.
Last week, The Sun Daily reported SME Association of Malaysia president Datuk Michael Kang as saying that 100,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) may have closed down since March.
The figure mentioned by Kang was three times the statistics reported by SSM, which showed 32,469 SME have wound up between March and September this year.
He added that while SSM provided official statistics, the unofficial number is much higher as many SME have some loose ends to tie up after pulling down their shutters, before submitting documents to SSM.
“I have been informed that many in the food and beverage business have closed shop for the time being following implementation of the conditional MCO in a number of states in the Peninsula because there are no customers,” Kang was reported as saying.
Touting official figures, Wan Junaidi said of the 281,781 new businesses registered, a bulk of them were sole proprietors and partnerships (89.3%), followed by companies (9.8%) and limited liability partnerships (0.8%).
He added that based on surveys conducted by SME Corp and his ministry, the percentage of businesses that have ceased operations is slightly lower in August (1.4%) compared to May (1.6%).
Wan Junaidi further reiterated that the Government is always open to have a dialogue with businesses leaders and urged the latter to take advantage of the approach to communicate their needs.
He also said the MCO has hastened SMEs to embrace digitalisation while encouraging large companies to source for local parts and components due to supply disruption from abroad.
“Every party must assume their part well to revive the economy as soon as possible,” added Wan Junaidi who is also the Santubong MP. – Nov 16, 2020
