Govt mulls extending moratorium for small businesses

The entrepreneur development and cooperatives ministry is considering extending the moratorium for micro, small and medium enterprise (PMKS) entrepreneurs who have not yet recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister Noh Omar, however, said the extension of the moratorium would be granted on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the needs of the entrepreneurs involved.

He said court and bankruptcy cases against PMKS entrepreneurs would also be postponed until the end of the year to give them space to restore their business.

"We understand there may still be people out there who need a moratorium. They can appeal to us," he said after an event in Kuala Lumpur today.

National Recovery Council chairman Muhyiddin Yasin recently proposed the move considering that the sector which contributed RM518.1 billion or 37.4% to the GDP last year has not fully recovered.

According to Muhyiddin, the PMKS sector is currently burdened with high debt which was worsened by the increase in the overnight policy rate.