Sin Chew Daily

In view of the current economic downtrend in the country as well as the overwhelming effects of the coronavirus outbreak, ACCCIM has submitted a proposal to the government to stimulate the national economy, including the setting up of a tourism industry assistance fund to provide tax relief as well as subsides for hotel operators, among others. Meanwhile, the government has revealed earlier that a new economic stimulus package will be announced on February 27.

It is a move in the right direction for the government to draw up a special stimulus plan in view of the current downturn. Nevertheless, the move has come a little too late and has missed the best timing to salvage the local market.

We need to emphasize here that such a rescue plan has to be implemented as soon as possible and must not be delayed any further.

According to an ACCCIM survey, 82.1% respondents believe the coronavirus will send sales volumes down by more than 20%. This shows that many people are pessimistic about local market prospects and have sensed an urgency for the government to step in.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe recently announced a 15 billion yen (RM570 million) emergency package to tackle the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. As for Taiwan, a NT60 billion (RM8.3 billion) stimulus package has been unveiled to boost the agriculture, fishery, transportation as well as tourism industries. In neighboring Singapore, the government is prepared to introduce a stimulus package when tabling the republic's fiscal budget on Tuesday. By comparison, our stimulus package has come way too late!

The continuous spread of the coronavirus has dealt a severe blow on the economy of many countries, including Malaysia. Many sectors have suffered as a result, and under such challenging circumstances, the government should have come up with an economic stimulus plan as early as possible to support the local market in order to offset the downward risks. Unfortunately our government has not been acting fast enough and the stimulus package is still on the drawing board at this moment.

Tourism, hospitality, transportation, food & beverage, retail and other industries have suffered tremendously as a consequence of the viral outbreak while the other industries are suffering varying degrees of losses. Thanks to the highly convoluted relationships in today's economics, chain reactions can be triggered by misfortunes in a couple of sectors, crippling the overall economy in the long run.

Because of this, the government should introduce a rescue plan before the situation gets worse and causes widespread damage to the overall economy, in a bid to minimize the destruction.

Having missed the best timing to resuscitate the ailing economy, the government must come up with truly powerful solutions when announcing the stimulus plan to effectively arrest the bleeding of affected companies, bring the much needed relief to the national economy, and rejuvenate the dampened market sentiment.