What if tomorrow the nearly one million SMEs who employ almost 60% of the total workforce in Malaysia staged a peaceful protest right in front of Ambiga’s house or the neighborhood whereshe lives in?

Million Dollar March 2.0 by Wayne Lim - Malaysia SME, The SME Paper 

ANAS ZUBEDY

It has hardly been two years and SMEs are once again being made to suffer by the acts of a supposedly responsible party calling for ‘clean’ elections.

The economic damage incurred by SMEs as a result of the July 9 street demonstration were far more severe compared to Aug 1, 2009.

But due to the ‘rallies’, the Friday and Saturday of July 8 and July 9 were no longer the same for the SMEs operating in or within the demonstration areas. They suffered losses of up to millions of ringgit. Even the taxi drivers were not spared. The poor taxi drivers stayed at home or were literally stationery to avoid running into the demonstrators. Why march? Why make the SMEs suffer? Of course, the person who initiated this knows best.

there can only be one loser and it has to be the SMEs who have no power and no political connections. But these SMEs that account for 99.2% of total active businesses and employ almost 60% of total workforce do have the power to vote and I believe all entrepreneurs think alike. They will vote for those who can provide a conducive environment for doing business. God bless SMEs! 

By Wayne Lim