Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli announced yesterday (April 29) that owners of home-based food businesses who register with the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SMCCI) will now automatically qualify for the Temporary Relief Fund.
Today is the last day to apply for the fund.
Mr Masagos, who is also the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, assures that these affected owners have legal protection under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
Businesses struggling to cope with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis will be able to get relief from their contractual obligations for as long as six months, under the law which was passed in Parliament earlier this month.
He added that the authorities are providing free legal support to business owners who are unable to fulfil their obligations.
In a Facebook post, he echoes National Development Minister Lawrence Wong’s statement that the restrictions on home-based businesses may be eased if the community transmission numbers are brought down.
“If we all cooperate and stay calm, it will be in time for the Hari Raya orders,” he said.
Mr Masagos also said that he understood the frustrations of Malay/Muslim business owners who would have received many orders during the Ramadan period and “their seasonal incomes would have been hit”.
To better understand the impact of the measures on their income, SMCCI is collecting relevant data from home-based food businesses.
Gathering such information can help them figure out how to better support the affected business owners.
“This could be in the form of supporting them in logistics and delivery, and training them for business management,” he added.
Featured Image Credit: THEAsiaN
