SHAH ALAM, Feb 26 — The Shah Alam and Klang Bumiputera Night Market Traders Association has called on the Federal Government to emulate the Yayasan Hijrah Selangor’s programme (Hijrah Selangor) in processing business loans from small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs).
Its chairman Kamarul Nizam Razak said the documents and procedures needed by Hijrah Selangor were few, and this has made it easier for SMEs to apply for their business loans.
The association also welcomes Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement during the tabling of Budget 2023 on Friday (February 24), on offering loans from banks to micro and small businesses.
However, he pointed out that the complicated process from banks and other financial institutions usually resulted in small businesses deciding not to proceed with their loan applications.
“For example, local banks will check the credit ratings from CTOS and Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS), making it difficult for small traders to obtain loans.
“But in Selangor, Hijrah Selangor does not have many procedures that check various documents, requiring only the bank account statement for a single month. This is compared with banks requiring three months’ statements,” Kamarul told Bernama today.
Another issue is that small traders are unable to apply for loans because they are not registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SMM), but possess a trading license from local authorities to operate in night markets, farmer’s markets and other temporary markets.
“I hope the (loan application) process can be simplified. There is no need to check CTOS and CCRIS scores because we (small traders) are facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years,” he said.
On Friday, Anwar announced that the government has prepared loan facilities totalling RM1.7 billion under agencies such as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) and the National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (Tekun) for micro and small traders.
“Of that, RM300 million is specified to support micro-businesses owned by women and youth entrepreneurs,” the Prime Minister said.
— Bernama
