The series of movement control orders (MCO) imposed in 2020 to curb the spread of Covid-19 has led to massive disruptions in various economic activities. Economic Stimulus Packages (ESPs) rolled out to support industry players in the worst-hit sectors though timely in preventing a far more severe economic downturn, were still unable to help out SMEs.

Moving forward, the government needs to take into account implementation gaps in the existing ESPs when devising future crisis response measures. Furthermore, policy focus needs to provide future economic direction by addressing existing structural challenges of SMEs and Micro-enterprises to help build their resilience.

In this policy paper, authors Lau Zheng Zhou, Sabrina Tang, and Yohendran Nadar Arulthevan aim to offer evidence-based insights on implementation and policy gaps of past ESPs across the worst-hit sectors (Manufacturing, Retail, and Tourism) in Malaysia.