SPA OPERATORS SEEK ASSISTANCE IN BUDGET 2021

5 NOV 2020

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor Spa Malay Women Entrepreneur Chamber of Commerce hopes Budget 2021 would provide small and medium enterprises (SME) with allocations tailored to the type of business they are involved in.

Its chairman, Norhayati Ramlan said this would ensure all SME segments would receive assistance and grant from the government especially as most businesses have similarly suffered as a result of the movement control order that was enforced when COVID-19 struck early this year. "Among the SME sector clusters, there are different types of businesses and services.

However, grants and assistance announced by the government are usually for the overall general business group and not specified according to the diversity of the business segments.

“This situation makes it difficult for spa operators to get assistance as they have to compete with other businesses that are more dominant such as in the food and beverage industry,” Norhayati told Bernama. 

She said the government has to come up with a more effective form of assistance and recovery plan for all parties including spa operators in Budget 2021.

This matter, Norhayati said has to be given attention, considering that spa business and services have contributed to economic growth and a handful of spa operators, treatment and beauty centres had to close due to cash flow problems making it difficult for them to pay rent.

Even if the spa premises were allowed to resume operations during the recovery movement control order (RMCO), financial position, she said, is not fully recovered. - Bernama