SAMENTA Calls 2027 Budget a Dedicated Boost for Malaysian SMEs

The Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (SAMENTA) hailed the 2027 national budget as a dedicated “SME Budget”, citing measures designed to ease cash-flow pressures for micro, small and medium enterprises. President William Ng praised the government’s declaration of 2027 as “Malaysia MSME Year” and pointed to a RM57 billion financing and guarantee scheme, a one-point cut to the corporate tax rate for SMEs, and an exemption from the new RM2,000 minimum-wage requirement for firms with annual sales under RM50 million.

Ng also expressed strong support for the Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Ministry’s ABCD Framework, which seeks to scale the “Missing Middle” by modernising operations, linking firms to high-value supply chains and boosting regional competitiveness. He pledged SAMENTA’s cooperation with Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong and the ministry to ensure rapid rollout of financing, digital automation assistance and smoother export-market entry, while minimizing bureaucratic hurdles. The budget, presented by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, raises the overall MSME loan and guarantee pool from RM50 billion to RM57 billion and maintains the corporate tax cut, while allowing smaller firms time to adjust to the higher minimum wage.