KUCHING: Budget 2025 should provide special assistance for the Dayak business community and the surveying of native customary rights (NCR) land, says the Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).
Its secretary-general, Libat Langub, called on the Federal Government to formulate a special agenda and provide a specific financial package to address the socioeconomic issues affecting Dayak businesses.
He said a special unit should also be set up in the Prime Minister’s Department to uplift the Dayak business community.
“DCCI can play a part in giving our views to the government in setting up the unit,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Oct 8).
Libat also said implementing e-invoicing would burden and challenge small Dayak businesses.
As such, he said the threshold for exempting micro, small and medium enterprises from e-invoicing should be increased from the present RM150,000 in annual turnover.
“Many small and medium-sized businesses may not have the capacity to comply in view of the added work and digital invoicing costs,” he said.
In addition, Libat said more funds should be allocated for surveying and issuing titles for untitled NCR land.
He noted that financial institutions did not accept untitled NCR land as collateral or security, and government agencies were unable to process financing based on it.
He said titles would enhance the commercial value of NCR land and give native landowners security, as their land would be properly surveyed and their ownership endorsed on a legal document.
DCCI also proposed tax cuts for individuals and companies for the next five years to ease Malaysians’ financial burden and assist post-Covid business recovery.
“This will enable companies to continue employing their workers. Otherwise unemployment will set in which does not augur well for the country,” Libat said.
