By Jailani Hasan
LABUAN, June 11 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce has presented a memorandum to the Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, seeking the latter’s approval and intervention on several economic-related issues plaguing local businesses.
The memorandum was presented by its president Datuk Wong Kii Yii to Annuar during the minister’s working visit to the island recently.
Among the issues highlighted in the memorandum includes on the need for FT Ministry’s incentives such as six months waiver of rental on government-owned premises to businesses affected by the imposition of the movement restrictions order (MCO) following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The local businesses are drowning in debts with outstanding staff salaries, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution and premise monthly rental…The Prime Minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) had said earlier that the rental of government-owned premises to be waived during the MCO, unfortunately, it does not apply to Labuan,” he told Bernama today.
He also called for solutions on the problem of liquor import permit approval which had caused fully-loaded cargoes to pile up at the Labuan Port, forcing importers to incur millions of ringgit in losses due to port and demurrage charges.
“We are also seeking an intervention from the Minister to help bring up the issue to the attention of the Minister of Finance on the requirement by the Inland Revenue Department’s (IRB) for businesses to submit account statement within 14 days, of which the time frame is just too harsh.
“Local businesses need at least three months to prepare the documentation as required by the IRB…14 days time frame after the receiving the IRB’s letter is too short, owing to the hectic schedule of the business operators,” he said.
Kii Yii also disclosed the need to reduce the corporate tax, similar to that of percentage enjoy by the Labuan offshore industry players.
”We also seeking for the Minister to help realise wishes by Labuan businesses to turn the island not only as a duty-free-island but also as a free trade zone as well as exempt local importers from (the need to) obtain documents like approved permit from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) to export goods to the third countries,” he said.
He said Labuan could still regain its glory days through the re-establishment of barter trade and transhipment business activities which was halted in 2016.
“Labuan’s barter trade activities had contributed to the business growth and local employment for more than 30 years before it was halted and shifted to Sandakan, Sabah…we hope the barter trade could be approved to reignite (the local economy) so we can help shape Labuan’s economy,” said Kii Yii.
–NNN-BERNAMA
