KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng has urged the government and banking sector to introduce a RM5 billion interest-free loan scheme and a one-year loan moratorium for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) following Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent.
In a statement today, Lim said the central bank’s move to keep the OPR unchanged was influenced by concerns over rising global commodity prices and supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict, which could negatively affect economic growth and inflation despite Malaysia’s resilient domestic economy.
He said the impact of these global uncertainties was already being felt by the country’s 1.1 million MSMEs.
Citing industry groups, Lim said the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM) had warned that Malaysia’s manufacturing sector was facing a deepening crisis due to disruptions in global supply chains, rising operational costs and weakening demand.
According to him, the SME Association of Malaysia and the Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia had also highlighted that MSMEs were struggling with escalating costs and declining business activity.
“FMM reported that 68 per cent of manufacturing companies are facing cash flow pressures, with 13 per cent describing the situation as severe enough to affect payments to suppliers,” he said.
He added that 28 per cent of manufacturing firms were considering job cuts, while five per cent had already implemented retrenchments.
Lim said the most immediate short-term measure was for banks to provide RM50,000 interest-free loans to 100,000 MSMEs, alongside a one-year moratorium on existing MSME loans.
He argued that the banking sector was in a strong financial position following a sharp increase in profits last year.
“The banking sector’s profits in 2025 surged by RM6.5 billion or 13.5 per cent, rising from RM48.3 billion in 2024 to RM54.8 billion in 2025,” he said.
Lim said maintaining the OPR at 2.75 per cent had allowed banks to preserve their profit margins, adding that banking stocks had also risen following Bank Negara’s announcement.
“If the banking sector can afford it, why should only banks profit while MSMEs continue suffering from the current economic crisis?” he said.
— Minutes MY / Darsini
