Govt to expedite digitalisation grant payouts after delays

 Digital minister Gobind Singh Deo says micro, small and medium enterprises will receive their payments by the end of April.

Digital minister Gobind Singh Deo said the finance ministry will facilitate the disbursement process to ensure the pending claims are paid without further delay.

PETALING JAYA:

 The government has agreed to expedite payments of outstanding funds under the MSME Digitalisation Grant Madani 2025 programme, after the National Tech Association of Malaysia (Pikom) complained of delays of up to six months.

Digital minister Gobind Singh Deo said the claims would be paid by the end of the month, after he raised the issue at the National Economic Action Council meeting today chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“The meeting acknowledged the urgency of the matter and agreed that payments of all outstanding grants must be expedited,” Gobind said in a statement.

He said the finance ministry would facilitate the disbursement process to ensure that pending claims were paid out without further delay.

Yesterday, Pikom said more than 70% of claims under the programme remained unpaid beyond six months, far exceeding the previously communicated timeline of one to two weeks.

Pikom chairman Alex Liew said more than 10,000 micro, small and medium enterprises had adopted digital solutions through more than 400 digitalisation partners under the grant.

The delayed payouts would place considerable strain on both the service providers and the MSMEs, he said.

Gobind said the government understood the importance of supporting MSMEs, particularly as they navigated an increasingly challenging global environment that has led to rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary pressures.

Under the programme, MSMEs can receive up to 50% of the cost, capped at RM5,000 per company, for adopting digital technologies such as point-of-sale systems, accounting software, marketing tools, cybersecurity, e-invoicing, and AI solutions. - FMT