政府支持中小微型企业的理性政策基础

您是否在中小微型企业（MSMEs）工作？很有可能，因为大约有一半的雇用人口──即48.2%的总就业人口，是由这些中小微型企业创造工作机会的。但在2022年，中小微型企业在马来西亚的国内生产总值（GDP）中仅占据了38.4%，出口额也只有10.5%。政府一般认为这在劳动生产率方面不理想，并期望中小微型企业能做得更多更好。 

当然，在这117万家中小微型企业中，必然有一部分企业希望挑战自我，力图超越中小型企业规模发展至大企业或上市公司，但事实上更多的企业却在为生存而挣扎。这就是市场需求对创业精神的残酷考验。

中小微型企业与外国联营公司（Foreign Affiliates，由外国投资者作为大股东控制的公司）在业绩表现上存著显著的差距，这差距应归因于后者的雄厚资本和进步技术以及广阔的全球供应网络所带来的优势，这些优势尤其在跨国公司中显而易见。

在我国，虽然外国联营公司仅有2087家，却在2021年占据了GDP的17.7%。中小微型企业在2022年仍未恢复到2019年或者说是疫情发生前的GDP水平，而外国联营公司却早已在2021年迅速反弹至疫情前的水平。

让我们来探讨并对比一下制造业。在2021年，中小微型企业雇佣的员工人数几乎是外国联营公司的四倍，然而，就GDP产值而言，外资联营公司仍然居于领先地位，占该领域GDP的36.8%，比中小微型企业多出2.2%或80亿令吉。若政府注重中小微型企业的产量和出口表现，那么制造业领域里的中小微型企业将是政府应当合作的对象。 

副财长务实和敏锐

财政部第二副部长沈志强上周表示，政府将在2024财政预算案中重点关注中小型企业，这是一件令人欣喜的事情。许多政治人物更关心的似乎是国家吸引外国直接投资（FDI）的能力，然而沈志强却意识到，国内直接投资（DDI）才是国家经济发展的重要组成部分，尤其是来自中小型企业的投资。

这说明了沈志强副部长的务实态度和敏锐观察力。他关注中小型企业，认为这些企业需要来自各方的大力支持，尤其是政府的扶持。他进而宣称，政府将致力于帮助该行业实现可持续发展，以推动国家经济增长。毕竟许多企业在几年前的疫情中受到了严重打击。 

政府对中小微型企业的关注十分合理，因为它们雇佣了半数劳动力。因此，政府必须明白，如果中小微型企业运营良好，那么劳动力人口便可以获得更稳定的工作和拥有更良好的前景。这样一来，才能吸引并留住人才，从而推动公司的业绩更上一层楼。

消除贫穷、关注劳动工资

首相兼财政部长安华对即将由团结政府发布的第二份财政预算案作出了承诺，表示2024年的预算案将重点关注中小微型企业。他强调，政府正努力推动创业发展，将其视为消除贫困的重要政策之一。这是基于一个假设，即中小微型企业能够创造更多就业机会，从而雇佣贫困家庭的成员，并在最低工资保障下为他们提供更为稳定的收入。

政府也提出了一项累进工资计划（Progressive wage scheme），迄今为止，这已公开给私营机构自愿采纳。该计划是以激励表现（incentive）为基础，以及与生产力水平相挂钩。

或许政府已意识到，劳动工资占国内生产总值的比重偏低，仅为32.4%，这是导致许多家庭陷入经济困境的一个重要问题。对于本地社区经济发展，这并不是一个积极正面的现象，因为消费者没有过多的可支配收入。那么，试问如果当地民众的购买力没有增强，我们应该如何扶持中小微型企业呢？

创业的知识和技能极其宝贵，因为并非所有的中小微型企业管理者都接受过这方面的系统培训。许多中小微型企业经常将“现金流”问题视为经营难题；但若他们不知道如何妥善处理财务问题，还可能因为看不透市场需求低迷而生存困难，那么政府提供再多的企业贷款也无济于事。

数码科技优化业务势在必行

另一方面，中小微型企业已经开始采用数码科技来优化业务，尤其是在行政和营销方面。许多企业已转向使用电子银行/电子商务、会计以及销售点（POS）软件。这些数码服务面对高度的市场竞争，即使是中小微型企业也应该能负担得起。大多数中小微型企业更倾向于将更多的预算投入数码营销上，尤其是社交媒体平台，而减少在报纸或广告看板等传统实体广告上的投入。

中小微型制造业企业面临的另一个挑战是运营──它们的员工往往更多地从事体力劳动，这与外国联营公司的情况不同，后者常掌握资金投入到最新的尖端技术如设备和机器上，以提高生产效率。许多现代设备通过电子传感器优化操作，从而减少人为错误，而且相比于手工劳动，它能减轻工人的疲劳。因此，中小微型制造业企业可能需要在新技术的资本投入上获得帮助以提高效率。

随著2024年财政预算案即将来临，政府既然已对中小微型企业作出了承诺，且让我们拭目以待那些将帮助中小微型企业发展的政策与措施。

刊登于《東方日報》《群議良策》專欄2023年10月11日 

東方臉書鏈接

Government's sensibility to support MSMEs (Unedited article)

 Are you employed by one of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)? The chances are probably 1 in 2 - about 48.2% of total employment is contributed by MSMEs. However, MSMEs account for only 38.4% of Malaysia's GDP and 10.5% of exports in 2022. Policymakers often see this as less than ideal in terms of labour productivity and challenge them to do more.

Surely, among the 1.17 million MSME establishments, there must be companies that would like to challenge themselves to grow beyond small and medium size, but many more are struggling to survive, which is the harsh reality of entrepreneurship subject to market demand.

There is a gulf in performance when comparing MSMEs with foreign affiliates (companies controlled by foreign investors as majority shareholders), which should show what capital and technological advances as well as an extensive global supply network can do for companies, especially multinationals. Foreign affiliates have only 2087 establishments in Malaysia, but already contributed 17.7% of GDP in 2021. MSMEs have not yet recovered to their 2019 or pre-pandemic GDP levels in 2022, but foreign affiliates have done so quickly in 2021.

Let's examine and compare the manufacturing sector. In 2021, MSMEs employed and engaged almost 4 times more workers than foreign affiliates, but in terms of GDP output, foreign affiliates come out on top, contributing 36.8% of sectoral GDP, 2.2% or RM8 billion more than MSMEs. If the government is concerned about MSME output and export performance, this is the sector the government can work with.

It's good to know that the government will focus on SMEs in Budget 2024, according to Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim. More often than not, many politicians seem more concerned with highlighting the country's ability to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Recognising domestic direct investment (DDI) as an important component of the country's economic development, especially that which comes from the SME sector, shows the Deputy Minister's practicality and sensibility. Sim's concern for SMEs is also evident in his comment that the sector needs a lot of support from various parties, especially from the government. He said the government would help make the sector more sustainable for the country's economic growth, as many businesses were hit hard by the pandemic years ago.

It makes sense for the government to look at MSMEs, because they employ half the workforce, so the government should know that if MSMEs are doing well, then the working population will have more stable jobs and better prospects. Then the talent can be retained, taking the companies to higher levels of performance.

Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim had also made the pledge about the unity government's upcoming second national budget, saying that Budget 2024 would focus on MSMEs. He pointed to the government's efforts to promote entrepreneurship as one of the ways to end poverty, presumably on the assumption that job creation by MSMEs would hire from poor households, giving them a more stable income with the guarantee of a minimum wage.

The government has also proposed a progressive wage scheme, so far voluntarily adopted by private sector entrepreneurs, which Anwar says is incentive-based and linked to productivity levels. Perhaps the government has realised that the low contribution of labour wages to GDP, at 32.4 per cent, is a problem that leaves many households in financial difficulty, which does not bode well for the local economy as they do not have much disposable income. So how can we help MSMEs if local people do not have more purchasing power?

Entrepreneurship knowledge and skills can be valuable, as not all MSME managers are well trained in this area. MSMEs often cite 'cash flow' as a problem for their business; the government SME loan may not help if the MSME does not know how to manage its financial problem and may find that its business is not viable due to poor market demand.

It is also safe to say that the adoption of digital solutions for MSMEs is already underway, mostly in terms of administration and marketing, many have turned to e-banking/e-commerce, accounting and point-of-sale (POS) software. These services can be competitive and are now more affordable even for MSMEs. Most MSMEs would prefer to allocate more budget to digital marketing, especially on social media platforms, and less to physical advertising such as newspapers or billboards.

Another hurdle for MSMEs in the manufacturing sector is operations - they tend to have more workers to do the manual labour and, unlike their foreign counterparts, have the capital to invest in the latest cutting-edge technology such as equipment and machinery to produce more efficiently. Many of the modern machines can optimise the operation through electronic sensors, thus reducing human error, and workers may be less tired compared to the manual work they used to do. MSMEs in the manufacturing sector may need a helping hand in capital investing in new technology.

With the government's promises to the MSME sector in Budget 2024, let's look forward to the measures to help MSMEs.

Government right to support MSMEs

 

Chances are you are employed at a micro-, small- or medium-sized enterprise (MSME). Data show that MSMEs hire about 48.2% of the working population in Malaysia.

However, MSMEs accounted for only 38.4% of the GDP and 10.5% of exports in 2022. Policymakers see this as less than ideal in terms of labour productivity.

Among the 1.17 million MSMEs in the country, there must be some companies that would like to challenge themselves to grow, but many more are struggling to survive, which is the harsh reality of entrepreneurship subject to market demand.

There is a gulf between the performance of local MSMEs and their foreign affiliates (companies with foreign investors as majority shareholders), which show what a large capital, technological advancements, and an extensive global supply network can do for companies.

Foreign affiliates have only 2,087 establishments in Malaysia but contributed 17.7% of GDP in 2021. Local MSMEs have yet to return to their pre-pandemic GDP levels in 2022 but foreign affiliates had done so quickly in 2021.

In 2021, MSMEs employed nearly four times as many workers as foreign affiliates in the manufacturing sector. However, in terms of GDP output, foreign affiliates outperformed MSMEs, contributing 36.8% of sectoral GDP, which is 2.2% or RM8 billion more than what local MSMEs contributed.

If the government is concerned about MSME output and export performance, this is the sector where the government can focus its efforts.

It’s good to know that the government will prioritise SMEs in Budget 2024, as announced by Deputy Finance Minister II Steven Sim. Often, politicians seem more preoccupied with foreign direct investment.

The deputy minister showed practicality and sensibility in recognising domestic direct investment, particularly in the SME sector, as a crucial component of the country’s economic development.

Sim’s concern for SMEs is also evident in his statement that the sector requires significant support, especially from the government. He emphasised that the government would help make the sector more sustainable for the country’s economic growth, given the challenges many businesses faced due to the pandemic in recent years.

It makes sense for the government to focus on MSMEs because they employ half of the workforce. Therefore, the government should understand that if MSMEs thrive, the working population will have more stable jobs and better prospects. This, in turn, will enable talent retention and elevate companies to higher levels of performance.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the finance minister, has also pledged that next year’s national spending plans will have a significant focus on MSMEs. He has highlighted the government’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship as a means to alleviate poverty, assuming that job creation by MSMEs will provide stable incomes for poor households with a guaranteed minimum wage.

The government has also proposed a progressive wage scheme, which private sector entrepreneurs have voluntarily adopted. Anwar has stated that this scheme is incentive-based and linked to productivity levels.

Perhaps the government has realised that the low contribution of labour wages to GDP, at 32.4%, is a problem that leaves many households in financial difficulty. It does not bode well for the economy when households lack significant disposable income.

So, how can we help MSMEs in the face of a lack of purchasing power?

Entrepreneurship knowledge and skills can be valuable because not all MSME managers are well-trained in these areas.

MSMEs often cite “cash flow” as a problem for their business. A government loan may not be helpful if the MSME does not know how to manage its financial issues, potentially leading to an unviable business due to poor market demand.

It is worth noting that the adoption of digital solutions for MSMEs is already underway, particularly in terms of administration and marketing. Many have embraced e-commerce, accounting, and point-of-sale software. These services have become more competitive and affordable, even for MSMEs.

Most MSMEs would prefer to allocate more of their budget to digital marketing, especially on social media platforms, and less to physical advertising, such as newspapers or billboards.

Another challenge for MSMEs in the manufacturing sector is their operations. They tend to rely more on manual labour, unlike their foreign counterparts, who have the capital to invest in cutting-edge technology and machinery to enhance efficiency.

Many modern machines can optimise operations with electronic sensors, reducing human error,and making work less physically demanding for employees.

MSMEs in the manufacturing sector may require assistance in investment in new technology.

As the government is committed to boosting MSMEs in Budget 2024, we can look forward to aid and measures to elevate the sector.

175th article for Agora@TMI column, published on The Malaysian Insight, 9 Oct 2023