Kuala Lumpur, October 26, 2020 – The world has changed drastically in 2020 due to Covid-19 with global lockdowns in place to contain the pandemic especially in the early part of the year. The pandemic and the lockdowns had resulted in the tragic loss of many lives and livelihoods with an unprecedented collapse in business activities with an almost standstill in trade and major disruptions to global supply chains.

The Government had been quick in providing support to individuals, households and industries to ensure that the country goes through this difficult period strongly and recovers quickly. However, the economic landscape remains uncertain as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Conditional Movement Control Orders have given rise to a ‘new normal’ to business operations as stringent conditions and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been put in place and would continue to be observed.

We continue to see spikes in cases globally as well as domestically where we are currently experiencing the third wave of infections which have forced the Government to institute more stricter controls to reduce the rate and break the chain of infections swiftly before there are more serious repercussions on both the rakyat and economy. Hopefully, the pandemic would recede in 2021, thus allowing the recovery phase for most companies to proceed as they restart and ramp up operations to reach a sustainable and stable position in terms of business and finance before they are able to start achieving the pre-Covid-19 position and growth. 

The economy and in particular the manufacturing sector must continue to be supported in their recovery journey through initiatives to be implemented under the 2021 Budget as the industry continues to be impacted by the pandemic. Manufacturing must continue to be supported as the catalyst of growth, main contributor to exports and main source of demand for output from the other economic sectors. The following are most crucial for continued support including the resolution of pressing issues currently hampering business operations and initiatives moving forward:

Immediate support to mitigate the impact of the third wave of Covid-19 infections

> Driving business transformation, technology and digitization adoption, productivity enhancement and innovation;

> Ensuring a conducive and friendly business and investment climate

> Developing human capital

> Strengthening trade including domestic trade

> Strengthening SME and Entrepreneurship

> Support for energy conservation initiatives

Article Reference : FMM