Around the world, measures imposed by governments to curb the spread of COVID-19, such as lockdowns, border closures, trade restrictions, and strict health and safety standard operating procedures (SOPs) in public spaces have led to devastating consequences, in terms of healthcare, economy, societal well-being and numerous others.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected our economy and the livelihood of the people. It has disproportionately impacted all levels of society and businesses, particularly the vulnerable groups,” said Chief Minister YAB Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg when tabling the 2021 State Budget in November 2020.
The figures regarding Sarawak’s economic performance for 2020 that he presented in his speech illustrated the dire situation in the State amid the global health crisis.
For example, Sarawak’s economy was expected to contract between 3.5 and 5.0 percent, and all economic sectors would experience negative growth, with tourism and manufacturing being the worst hit.
Records from Labour Department of Sarawak showed that 72,251 vacancies were reported from January to September 2020, along with 1,956 retrenchments that mostly came from the hotels and restaurant, wholesale and retail, and construction sectors.
This could lead to a rise in the State unemployment rate of between 5.0 and 5.5 percent.
“Proactive actions and whole-of-government approach are required to not only save lives but also the health of our economy,” the Chief Minister noted.
One such action was the provision of assistance to all Sarawakians, especially those who were in desperate need of keeping their businesses, jobs and themselves as a whole during this tough period.
In March 2020, the Sarawak Government rolled out Sarawakku Sayang Special Aid Package (BKSS), becoming one of the first states in Malaysia to offer such beneficial assistance to individuals and businesses who were struggling during the first national lockdown or Movement Control Order (MCO).
Six of these special aid packages has since been implemented, costing the Government a total of around RM4.5 billion.
The latest being BKSS 6.0 in May 2021, at a time where rapid increase in COVID-19 cases have compelled Sarawak to impose another round of MCO.
In essence, BKSS aims to lighten the burden of the people to enable them to continue their daily lives as they weather through the pandemic.
Consisting of measures and assistances including cash hand-outs, low repayment deferment, interest-free soft loans, monthly incentives and discounts, the special aid package addresses the needs of people from all levels of society and businesses of all scales across industries.
Low Income Households
Many of the measures under BKSS target those who are in the bottom 40 percent household income group or B40.
According to Khazanah Research Institute, majority of B40 households in Malaysia can be found in urban areas and are reliant on single-income recipients, who are most likely working for others, running their own business, or gaining transfer payments from the government.
Heads of B40 households typically possess lower educational qualifications and are employed in low-skill jobs that offer less earning potential.
These households also tend to spend most of their income, suggesting that they often lack savings for financial emergency.
In Sarawak, the 2019 Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey Report by Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) revealed that 43.6 percent of 625,400 households earned below RM4,000, with 10.7 per cent earning less than RM2,000.
Although this showed an improvement from previous numbers in 2016 – 47.6 percent earned RM3,999 and below, with 15.5 percent earning less than RM2,000 – this does not reflect the level of financial stability that B40 households have compare to those under the M40 and T20 groups, given their aforementioned characteristics.
Thus, the Sarawak Government prioritises the provision of necessary aid to the B40 via BKSS to alleviate any of their socio-economic concerns during the pandemic.
Business Owners
Through BKSS, the Government is also supporting businesses in the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who are highly vulnerable to the economic impact of COVID-19 due to their limited finances.
This is because SMEs in the State – and in most countries across the globe for that matter – are considered the backbone of the economy.
To illustrate, as of 2016, SMEs account for 907,065 or 98.5 percent of business establishments across all sectors in Malaysia. 6.7 percent of total SMEs are located in Sarawak.
According to DOSM, SMEs contributed 38.9 percent of Malaysia’s gross domestic products (GDP) in 2019 – an increase from 38.3 percent in 2018.
Although the growth rate of SMEs GDP at 5.8 percent in 2019 was lower than that of 2018 (6.2 percent), it remained above Malaysia’s GDP as well as Non-SMEs, which registered 4.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.
In the same year, SMEs employed 7.3 million people, which was 48.4 percent of Malaysia’s total employment compared to 48.0 percent in the previous year.
Their employment rate at 3.0 percent was higher than that of Malaysia (2.1 percent) and Non-SMEs (1.4 percent).
Tourism Players
Tourism is one of the hardest hit sectors in Sarawak during the COVID-19 crisis.
Figures from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak indicate that visitors’ arrivals to the State fell drastically in 2020 by 74.27 percent – from 4,662,419 in 2019 down to 1,199,872 in 2020 – as a result of travel restrictions and border closure.
“The decline in tourism has spill over effect on other services sectors, particularly affecting the transport and logistics, hotel and accommodations, wholesale and retail trade as well as food and beverages industries,” said the Chief Minister, adding that the Government was expecting the service sector to register a negative growth of 1.4 percent in 2020.
Given that tourism is a major contributor to the State GDP, measures under BKSS cater to the well-being of its players.
They include those in the travel (e.g. tourism agencies, homestay operators, tourist guides, etc.) and transportation industries (e.g. boat owners, van operators, e-hailing drivers, etc.).
Worldwide, 2020 was the worst year in tourism history; data from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) showed that international arrivals dropped by 74 percent, causing the tourism sector to lose around USD1.3 trillion in export revenues and put between 100 and 120 million direct tourism jobs at risk, many of which come from SMEs.
Despite mass COVID-19 vaccination programmes taking place, majority of tourism experts from UNWTO believed that the sector may not be able to recover to pre-pandemic levels before 2023, because of the evolving nature of the coronavirus and the pandemic.
Front Liners
Since BKSS 1.0, the Government provides monthly allowances and/or incentives to front line personnel in recognition of their contribution and sacrifice in battling COVID-19 and risking themselves to infection while performing their duties in Sarawak.
Initially towards healthcare workers and security personnel (e.g. Royal Malaysia Police, Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia, Malaysian Armed Forces, etc.), these assistance have since been extended to media practitioners, who are key in reporting and informing the COVID-19 situation to the public.
With COVID-19 cases surging in the State, it is crucial that every Sarawakian play their part in curbing the spread of the disease to prevent the healthcare system from collapsing and most importantly to ensure whatever sacrifices front-liners have made do not go to waste. “I urge all Sarawakians whatever their creed, race and political affiliation, to stay united as one people and work together and ensure we all get through this, so that we can continue our journey towards building a progressive and prosperous society,” said the Chief Minister.
