GEORGE TOWN, Jan 17 — The Penang government has urged financial institutions to assist tourism players by extending their loan moratorium in view of the re-implementation of the movement control order (MCO).
In a statement yesterday, state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee (PETACE) chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said the financial institutions’ support towards the tourism industry was crucial towards alleviating their financial burden during this difficult period.
He also said that he had appealed to the Association of Banks in Malaysia regarding the matter and it had responded by saying that its members would continue to support the affected companies.
“The association has advised companies requiring such assistance to contact their respective banks immediately to discuss further alternatives for their repayments and eligibility for available funding programmes that they may qualify for.
“The renegotiating of the loan repayment term will help to mitigate the economic impact faced by tourism players because the industry will take much longer to recover post-Covid-19,” he added.
The federal government enforced the MCO in six states, namely Penang, Selangor, the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan), Melaka, Johor and Sabah, from January 13-26 following a spike in Covid-19 cases.
— Bernama
