SHAH ALAM, June 30 — A six-month reduction in rental rates for local authority premises beginning this July will help ease the financial burden of more than 21,000 traders across Selangor.
The initiative, announced by Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Amirudin Shari, provides a 30 per cent rental reduction until December as part of Phase Two of the Selangor Resilience Enhancement Package (SREP).
Sepang Municipal Council President Ani Ahmad said the initiative would benefit 619 registered traders through reduced rental rates until the end of this year.
“The council will bear a total cost of RM240,000 involving tenants and hawkers. By implementing the rental reduction, we hope they will have more money on hand.
"This will help reduce their monthly rental expenses. Perhaps the money they no longer need to spend on rent can instead be used elsewhere, such as purchasing raw materials or supporting their business operations,” she told Media Selangor.
Meanwhile, the Subang Jaya City Council's Corporate and Strategic Management Department said that 713 tenants of premises, comprising shop and stall operators, would benefit from the initiative.
“This initiative is one of the council’s proactive measures to support the state government’s efforts to help reduce the financial burden on tenants of local authority-owned premises, particularly in facing the challenges of rising business operating costs.
“The implementation of the rental reduction involves a financial implication of RM300,953.16 over the six-month period. Although the initiative will affect rental revenue collection, it represents a social investment that reflects our commitment to supporting government policies aimed at easing the financial burden on premises tenants while ensuring the continuity of local economic activities,” it said.
On June 19, Amirudin announced that the state government would offer a 30 per cent reduction in rental rates for local authority premises for six months, from July to December.
The initiative under Phase Two of SREP is intended to help traders cope with the impact of the global supply and energy crisis and would benefit 21,234 traders.
He added that RM4.5 million has been allocated for the assistance, which will be provided automatically without requiring any application from traders.
SREP, tabled by the Menteri Besar during the recent Selangor State Legislative Assembly's special sitting, was introduced as the state government’s response to the global energy and supply crisis triggered by the conflict in West Asia.
Under the package, it has implemented a series of intervention measures to help the public and the business sector cope with rising costs caused by supply chain disruptions and uncertainty in the global energy market.
