Forty percent of Malaysian SMEs face bankruptcy if full lockdown is applied

Up to 40 percent of small- and medium-sized enterprises in Malaysia will go bankrupt if full lockdown is applied (Photo: theedgemarkets)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The SME Association of Malaysia (SME Malaysia) has urged the Government not to impose a full lockdown on the economy, warning that nearly 40 percent of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will go bankrupt if that happens.

The association said it has conducted a web dialogue with its members and is currently conducting a nationwide survey on the impact of the third Movement Control Order (MCO), which lasts from May 12 to June 7.

The initial report indicates that 91 percent of SMEs expect business revenue to be affected by this MCO, with 37.5 percent of these companies expecting a decline of more than 50 percent in business performance, SME Malaysia President Michael Kang Hua Keong said in a statement.

If a full lockdown is implemented like the first MCO, 37.7 percent of SMEs will close their operations and at least 2 million people will be losing their jobs, he added.

The statement was made in the context of more and more opinions in favor of a full lockdown to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

On May 17 evening, Dr. Noor Hisham, a senior official of the Malaysian Health Ministry, emphasised that the health care system was running at full capacity and the country needed to go into full lockdown./.

VNA