PETALING JAYA: The swift intervention by the government has protected SMEs from the worst of the energy crisis, said Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (Samenta) national president Datuk William Ng.
While many economies globally and even within Asean struggled as a result of the war in Iran, Malaysia’s domestic economy has remained resilient, he added
“This is a direct result of well-timed fiscal planning, strategic supply chain management, and targeted financial relief introduced by the government, Ng said in a statement today.
“When geopolitical tensions escalated early this year, the industry and in particular our SMEs have braced ourselves for a worst-case scenario. We anticipated Brent crude soaring past US$100 a barrel, runaway inflation, and a supply crisis that would see mass closures among SMEs.”
In response, Ng said, most SMEs tightened operations by deferring non-essential overheads such as marketing, training and non-critical maintenance, while pivoting away from Western-centric supply chains toward regional partners.
Five months into the crisis, he added, the anticipated economic paralysis has not materialised. While Brent crude rose 27% this year to average US$93 per barrel, Ng said, Malaysia’s economy defied global trends by posting a robust GDP growth of 5.4% in the first quarter of 2026.
“Our retail sector and domestic spending remain strong, and we are not seeing the kind of mass closures and retrenchment that is happening in neighbouring countries,” he added.
Samenta credits this soft landing to the government’s foresight. By keeping petrol subsidies intact and strictly enforcing anti-profiteering measures, the government successfully kept inflation under 2%. This containment directly insulated the SMEs from runaway overheads.
Furthermore, Ng said, early domestic fuel stockpile management and logistical coordination at major ports avoided a logistical catastrophe. This in turn reinforced the confidence of foreign and domestic investors.
“These decisive actions have put Malaysia in a distinct sweet spot within Asean. Not only is Malaysia among the least impacted, we have benefited strongly as a safe haven in the midst of this global uncertainty,” he remarked.
Major industry associations including Samenta were consulted as early as March. A whole of government approach, including the Ministries – Economy; Finance; Investment, Trade and Industry; Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development; and Bank Negara worked almost seamlessly to provide liquidity support to the SMEs, said Ng.
“This led to the introduction of the RM5 billion SME Stability Relief Facility (SRG) specifically for impacted SMEs. The RM 10 billion credit guarantee via CGC and SJPP and the increase in the margin of guarantee to 80 percent has also provided a crucial bridge for otherwise productive SMEs to borrow more to tide over the crisis,” he added
To help SMEs become more energy resilient, Samenta launched Asean’s first Circular Economy Certification to help SMEs reduce raw material and energy dependency.
“Simultaneously, we are rolling out our nationwide 50 Hyperlocal AI Fest roadshow to help SMEs integrate artificial intelligence to improve their productivity. Both programmes received full support from various government agencies,” said Ng.
Samenta expects Malaysia’s economy to remain robust, fortified by massive incoming investments in data centres and digital infrastructure. This is only possible through the sort of partnership between the industry and the government as we have seen over the past four months.
Samenta said it remains committed to supporting the government in ensuring SMEs are protected and insulated from external challenges, while preparing them for the future.
