By Dr Ong Sheue Li

Information, undoubtedly, has economic value. This is because, with sufficient information, companies can make choices that yield higher than expected returns. 

However, one obvious obstacle confronted by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, is that most of these companies lack access to consultants, or cannot afford their services. These SMEs are, therefore, not sure what they should do when the government delivers a policy notice. For instance, following the imposition of the Movement Control Order (MCO), the owners of most SMEs were not sure whether they should pay wages or order workers to go on annual leave. 

Zhuang Min, a journalist with the Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, reported on this issue in his column entitled 'Muhyiddin has his ministers as he does not have ministers'. In Zhuang's article, he mentioned that the media had spent three days searching for answers to common inquiries made by the public after the Prime Minister had first announced the MCO. Unfortunately, none of the government's ministers could answer these queries. 

This lack of information has made it difficult for SMEs to understand new government procedures and to make decisions conforming with these instructions. This inadequate access to information is also the reason why many SMEs are unfamiliar with available and ongoing support provided by the government after it announced its stimulus package to help SMEs deal with the pandemic. 

Compounding this problem is that many SMEs continue to face growth challenges due to their insufficient use of information technology. Many SMEs do not adequately use technology since many of them are micro enterprises with limited funds. A number of these micro enterprises are located in semi-urban and rural areas. The government should therefore identify alternative ways to get information to these enterprises.

To further strengthen the support system for providing information to SMEs, both technological and physical approaches can be implemented. On the technology side, the government could use the Internet or text messaging. However, this may not be efficient, as Internet connectivity is weak in many rural areas and text messaging can be a source of miss-information. 

On the physical side, we can learn from Japan. The Japanese government has established Comprehensive Support Centers for SMEs nationwide, in each of its 47 prefectures, since April 2013. These nationwide centers have helped local enterprises receive timely and useful information.

In Malaysia, the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development (MED) has a similar government initiative, the MED established in October 2018 the Entrepreneurship One-Stop Center (PSK) as a platform to disseminate information to SMEs. However, as of today, the number and location of PSKs is not clear, even though the fact that it exists appears on the SME Corporate Malaysia official website. The only source where information is available about these PSKs is in a book entitled 'Malaysia Baru (English version)', written by Wan Azizah Wan Omar and Lim Ann Teck and published on 2 Jan 2020. According to this book, as of December 2018, eight physical PSKs have been developed. This includes one main PSK or PSK Hub, located at the headquarters of SME Corp Malaysia at Platinum Sentral in Kuala Lumpur. The other seven mini PSKs are located in Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Kota Bharu, Malacca, Alor Setar, Cyberjaya and Johor Bahru.

In an attempt to obtain more information about PSK, I called several of its toll-free-lines. However, during the MCO, SME Corporate State Offices are closed. This reflects another pressing issue. If the government has established PSKs to assist SMEs deal with their business problems, why is it a challenge to even get in touch with them, especially during a pandemic such as the COVID-19?

This comparison between Japan and Malaysia exposes our country's weakness in the quality and speed of information transfer between the government and the SMEs. With just a limited number of physical PSKs available nationwide, catering to the high demand of inquiries from SMEs in 13 states and three federal territories can be a serious problem. SMEs will find it difficult to obtain essential information about policies and incentives from the government which have to be implemented immediately.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and leading up to the MCO, this problem has become particularly acute. Vital information has not reached SMEs on time, or at all. SMEs have, therefore, been unaware of fast-moving government policies and support for such enterprises. Meanwhile, many SMEs have been struggling to keep their businesses alive, but have nowhere to look for assistance.

It is, therefore, vital, as a possible solution, that the government establish far more PSKs. Perhaps, one in every state to cater for the demand by SMEs for quick access to information and government aid, especially in time of emergencies. By establishing PSKs nationwide, in the long run, this will also ensure that there is continuous communication between the government and SMEs.

(Dr Ong Sheue Li is Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Universiti Malaya.)