The Entreprnuer and Development Minister, Tan Sri Noh Omar welcomed the actions of the banking sector which continued to help borrowers facing financial difficulties, he added the effort taken has also been in line with the new MEDAC policy that the minister had announced recently. According to a press statement, the Minister said that all agency under MEDAC which provides financing to entrepreneurs such as TEKUN Nasional, Bank Rakyat, SME Bank, SME Corp. Malaysia, PUNB, AIM and PERNAS have been instructed to not take any legal action against borrowers. At the same time he has also requested that applicants who ask for government funding to not be subjected to CTOS and CCRIS screening in fear of many being rejected due to systems, adding these too should be mechanism to help entreprenues affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is due to many business owners facing restrictions from financial institutions when their credit ratings are below encouraging leaving many of them not being eligible for loans and goverment assisted fundings. Its a double whammy for some, as the ratings will only get worse as they struggle to repay borrowings and loan providers continue to shun them on fears of defaulting. As for the 100 day report card for the Ministry, a total of 220,248 entrepreneurs affected by COVID-19 had been assisted by MEDAC involving an overall cost of RM7.172 billion. The Minister reiterated that the Ministry will continue to assist micro, small and medium entrepreneurs and cooperatives not only through financing but also through new business opportunities, digitisation, entrepreneurship training as well as engagement sessions.
