MIER Calls for Better-Coordinated Support for Malaysia’s MSMEs

Malaysia’s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) policy should focus less on simply increasing financial assistance and more on delivering coordinated, accessible and measurable support, according to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER).

The think tank said existing programmes should provide the right assistance at the right stage of a business’s development while maximising the economic and social returns from public funding. 

MIER urges government to measure MSME support by real business outcomes

MIER said one of the biggest challenges is fragmentation and overlap among programmes offered by ministries, agencies and financial institutions.

It called for greater coordination to reduce duplication and simplify access, while measuring success through business survival, productivity, income growth, job creation and the ability of smaller businesses to graduate to larger financing and markets.

The think tank welcomed the government’s additional RM200 million in grants for hawkers, small traders, night-market operators and home-based businesses, as well as RM1 billion in additional microfinancing.

It also backed the higher e-Invoice exemption threshold of RM3 million, saying the move could reduce compliance costs for many micro and small businesses.