Kuala Lumpur: The National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (TEKUN) is providing a moratorium of up to three months to ease the financial burden of entrepreneurs in Sabah and Sarawak affected by recent floods. The Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry (KUSKOP), in a statement, said the moratorium is one of several initiatives by agencies under the ministry to assist flood-hit entrepreneurs in both states.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, affected entrepreneurs can withdraw savings from their financing accounts and reschedule loan repayments. TEKUN entrepreneurs who suffered business premises and stock losses may apply for overlapping financing to restart their affected businesses. KUSKOP said financial aid in the form of capital injections or additional financing is available to help entrepreneurs restore and strengthen their business operations post-flood. A total of 702 TEKUN entrepreneurs in Sabah and Sarawak have been impacted by the floods, with estimated losses amounting to RM3.2 million.
Besides this, Bank Rakyat is offering a temporary deferment of monthly loan repayments for up to six months during the financing period. The deferment applies to various financial products, including Personal Financing-i, Home Financing-i, Vehicle Financing-i, Hire Purchase-i, Pawn Broking-i, Education Financing-i, Micro Financing-i and Credit Card-i. Meanwhile, Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (PERNAS) is offering flood relief assistance in the form of a three-to-six-month moratorium on monthly loan repayments, subject to application and management approval.
Additionally, the Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (SKM) is providing aid to affected cooperative members, including food baskets and electrical appliances worth RM15,000 for Sarawak (Serian and Miri) and RM10,000 for Sabah. The Institut Koperasi Malaysia (IKMa) is also contributing 100 food baskets to affected cooperative members in Kota Belud, Lahad Datu, Serian and Bintulu. Flood-affected entrepreneurs and cooperatives are encouraged to contact the nearest KUSKOP agency branch for more details on the available flood relief initiatives.