BUDGET 2021 : WISHLIST FOR LOGISTICS PLAYERS

The upcoming Budget 2021 is set to be a much more conservative one compared with previous year.

- NAZERY KHALID

It will be characterised by austerity measures and promoting economic growth amid the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Malaysian and global economies. The budget will focus on kickstarting the stalled economy, creating jobs, providing financing to businesses and entrepreneurs, and putting more money into consumers’ pockets to spur domestic demand.

Smart money is on less money being allocated for the upcoming Budget compared with previous ones as the Government’s coffers take a hit from the impact of the Movement Control Order (MCO) that has caused demand destruction of many goods and services, sent unemployment, and bankruptcies soaring, and driven the economy teetering at the brink of recession.

This has come at a time when various stimulus packages, programs and incentives – involving not an inconsequential amount of money - have already been introduced to assist those most affected economically by the MCO and help businesses to stay afloat.

Players in the logistics industry, which is a crucial facilitator of the nation’s trade-oriented and increasingly domestically driven economy, are no exemption. This industry - encompassing a wide range of activities such as planning, packaging, repackaging, cargo consolidating, transportation, warehousing, distribution, retrieval, storage, inventory management and many others – is the lifeblood of the nation’s economy. These activities are supported by a huge number of enterprises big and small that provide ancillary services, equipment, systems and solutions to logistics industry players.