Commenting on an announcement that all government services will go cashless by 2022, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) president Marimuthu Nadason told FMT Malaysians were not prepared for this and the government was in undue haste.
Malaysian Association for Malay Hawkers and Small Businessmen secretary-general Zamri Mohammed, also speaking to FMT, said many small traders still lacked the knowledge required to deal with the government without using cash.
The announcement was made yesterday by finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.
Marimuthu said Tengku Zafrul, being a banker, probably did not know much about the life of the rural poor and how they work and earn.
“These rural folk deal with government offices as well. But what about their internet connectivity?”
He said they should first be empowered with better connectivity and access to credit cards, noting that banks would “not simply dish out credit cards”.
“Think of Mak Cik Kiah first,” he said, referring to a name Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin once used when speaking of roadside vendors.
Marimuthu said the Covid-19 pandemic, which had made schooling and working from home necessary, had also exposed the weakness of the country’s broadband network.
“Instead of pushing for such high-flying policies at a terrible time when lives are at stake, the finance minister should focus on helping the poor B40 and M40 families who are worried where their next meal is coming from,” he added.
Zamri said he believed going cashless would be “the best way forward” but added that petty traders still preferred using cash when dealing with the government and with their customers.
He said his organisation tried to encourage online transactions during Ramadan, “but the response was poor.”
“If we are to go cashless, the government needs to spend a bit to educate traders on e-wallets. Otherwise, they won’t change,” he said.
Economist Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak said he believed most traders were willing to use e-wallets and online payments but the government needed to create awareness on ways of going cashless.
He said he was once at a remote place in Sabah where traders used the Alipay e-wallet system to cater to Chinese tourists. “Once they are familiar with e-wallets, they will use them.”
He also said the cashless system should be standardised to make it easy for traders, consumers and government offices.