While one group representing them saw little to celebrate, a rival association chose to see the positive side.

The SME Association of Malaysia said that while there were initiatives that would benefit the B40 and M40 income groups, there was little for the SMEs.

Its secretary-general Chin Chee Seong said the little initiatives directed at the business community were mainly for micro enterprises.

“The government is giving incentives to these groups in hopes that they will boost the economy, but we can’t really see how this can help with the overall economic recovery and how it would support SMEs,” he said.

Chin said that while the 2% decrease in income tax would bring some savings, the gain would be cancelled out later by a higher overnight policy rate (OPR) and a rise in inflation.

He said that while some initiatives were targeted at affected sectors such as tourism, there was no immediate assistance given to entrepreneurs in these sectors.

He said the government should also explain how the RM10 billion for SME automation and digitisation would be utilised.

“We have yet to see the details, and how the actual implementation will be,” Chin said.

Small and Medium Enterprise Association (Samenta) chairman William Ng felt that while the majority of the initiatives were focused on micro enterprises, there were some benefits for SMEs too.

He cited the RM1,000 grant, reduced tax rates and financing facilty through Semarak Niaga as examples.

“We feel positive that the overall liquidity that SMEs will receive, plus the allocations for automation and digitisation will help support SMEs recovery in the post-pandemic era,” he added.