Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has urged banks in the country to not take any legal action against hawkers and petty traders who failed to repay their loans. Instead, he asked for banks to emulate the initiative taken by the financial institutions under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC) such as Bank Rakyat and SME Bank which have withheld from taking any legal action against hawkers and petty traders if they failed to make repayments up until June 2022.
As reported by national news agency Bernama, Ismail Sabri made the request as micro traders are badly affected and burdened by the Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, the Prime Minister wants financial institutions to make a reasonable judgement on the matter and urges for financial institutions under the government such as Bank Simpanan Nasional and Bank Pembangunan to follow in Bank Rakyat and SME Bank’s footsteps.
Speaking at the launching of the Keluarga Malaysia Hawkers and Petty Traders Day and Night market Transformation Programme yesterday, Ismail Sabri stressed,
“I hope other banks can emulate the action taken by the banks and financial institutions under MEDAC,”
The programme launched by the Prime Minister yesterday is a twinning programme that are aimed at helping hawkers and petty traders to revive their businesses after two years of struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic.
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