US TARIFF: GOVT TO BOOST SJPP GUARANTEE SCHEMES BY RM1 BLN TO ASSIST SME EXPORTERS

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Bernama) -- The government has agreed to raise government guarantees under the Business Financing Guarantee Scheme (SJPP) by RM1 billion to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are affected following the United States (US) tariff announcement to secure loans from commercial banks.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that to help affected SME entrepreneurs, the government has also approved an additional sum of RM500 million for soft loan facilities offered through development financial institutions.

“The government will continue to monitor the latest developments and is prepared to provide targeted assistance to SMEs that are directly affected.

“The US reciprocal tariff has a negative impact on global supply chains and trade, especially for SMEs, and is disruptive to ASEAN economic stability,” he said when giving an explanation on US tariffs at a special Dewan Rakyat meeting today.

Meanwhile, Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said that amid the global economic volatility, the country needs to give greater focus on generating domestic economic activities, especially development projects and direct investments.

“In this regard, the government will focus efforts on accelerating the implementation of approved projects, especially flood mitigation projects, repair of dilapidated schools, and construction of clinics.

“To expedite implementation, the government will streamline procurement policies and procedures -- especially those involving small contractors in G1-G4 categories,” he said.

The government, he added, has agreed to increase the limit for procurement by quotation from RM1 million to RM3 million as well as the limit for procurement through balloting from RM100,000 to RM200,000, especially to speed up maintenance and repair works for dilapidated schools and clinics, among others.

Anwar said that to accelerate the pre-implementation process of projects, the capacity of technical agencies will be expanded with the introduction of new approaches -- such as allowing the implementation of Federal Government projects to proceed on state government land. 

He also said special emphasis will be given to realising approved investments.

On April 2, US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, with Malaysia being imposed a tariff of 24 per cent. However, this rate has been paused for 90 days with the imposition of a baseline tariff of 10 per cent.

-- BERNAMA