Enduring the Pandemic: Surveys on the Impact of COVID-19 to the Livelihoods of Malaysian MSMEs & Workers

In: http://hdl.handle.net/11540/13338

Abstract

While Malaysia's economy may be driven by large industries where government-linked companies (GLCs) and multi-national corporations predominate, the importance of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) should not be underestimated. Almost all (98.5%) registered businesses in Malaysia are MSMEs, and help to stimulate the economy in more ways than one (i.e., providing employment and innovation, among others). Judging by economic performance and administrative resilience following the 14th General Election in 2018, Malaysia's economic growth and development seemed to be on a positive trajectory. However, with the emergence of Covid-19 in late 2019, MSMEs have been badly impacted, with a tremendous number of them closing down temporarily or shutting down operations completely. This is expected to hamper Malaysia's prospects for economic growth for years to come. While the country's economy, overall, will likely experience challenges in future, Malaysia's working people will be the most affected—namely those who are breadwinners for their families. A survey-based study was carried out from July to August 2020 by The Asia Foundation (the Foundation) to identify how Malaysian MSMEs have been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. This looked at key areas such as businesses': performance prior to the pandemic, operations during Covid-19 restrictions, expectations about survival, coping strategies, perceptions about the government's management in response to the pandemic, and willingness to help women cope with the pandemic. This study also surveyed the impact of Covid-19 on Malaysian workers, and especially during the initial phase of the government's movement control order (MCO), which was introduced and enforced to prevent mass spread of the coronavirus. The study was carried out to analyze the direct and indirect impact that the outbreak and the associated measures put in place by employers and the government had on different groups of workers.