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Putrajaya may introduce special grants for micro and SMEs affected by floods

Several flood victims were seen wading through the floods in Hulu Langat, December 19, 2021. The prime minister said they had met with two traders from Taman Sri Nanding and Taman Sri Muda to get a picture of the extent of the losses incurred due to the floods that devastated the two housing communities in Hulu Langat, Selangor. — Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — The federal government is planning to introduce special grants for SMEs, micro enterprises and informal traders whose businesses were affected by the floods.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he will make the announcement soon after chairing a meeting with industry representatives today.

The meeting was attended by various agencies such as the Department of Statistics, Dewan Perniagaan Melayu Malaysia, Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac).

Ismail Sabri said they had met with two traders from Taman Sri Nanding and Taman Sri Muda to get a picture of the extent of the losses incurred due to the floods that devastated the two housing communities in Hulu Langat, Selangor.

“During the meeting we agreed in principle to provide aid in the form of special grants to reduce the burden of micro and informal enterprises, apart from the existing government agency aid.

“The Ministry of Finance will have further discussions with Medac, ministries and relevant agencies along with the other chamber of commerce to fine tune these suggestions,” he said in a statement.

“Further visits to the affected locations will be made to ensure those affected receive the aid,” he added.

Torrential rains caused floods in seven states last month, rendering major roads impassable and forcing many residents to be evacuated from their submerged houses to relief centres.

Losses have been estimated to total RM6.5 billion.

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