In a statement today, Samenta said the mid-term review is timely and would benefit small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by providing “course correction” for the country’s economy amid global uncertainties.

The mid-term review was tabled by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday in the Dewan Rakyat in a bid to realign the 12MP, which was initially tabled in September 2021, with the goals of the Madani economy framework.

The 12MP lays out programmes to empower and accelerate the country’s economy for a five-year period.

During the mid-term review announcement, the government said it has raised the expenditure ceiling for the 12MP by RM15 billion, bringing its total allocation to RM415 billion from the original RM400 billion.

While Samenta commended the revised plan’s focus on attracting foreign investments, it said the government must also drum up efforts to increase domestic investments and encourage greater value addition through productivity enhancement.

“The government is right in focusing on high-growth, high-value industries, which will have spillover effects to SMEs and the rakyat as these clusters take off,” said Samenta president William Ng.

He urged Putrajaya to increase investments in the SME sector to enable the latter to gain a stronger foothold in global supply chains.

“While we can understand the government’s obsession with start-ups, some of these funds and intervention may bear better fruit if they are funnelled to high-growth, high-impact SMEs.

“For instance, (this can be achieved) by ensuring export-ready SMEs are better facilitated through focused market-linkage and branding and packaging design,” he said.

Ng said such activities will enable more SMEs to be integrated into the global supply chain, allowing them to compete regionally and internationally.