Local entrepreneurs lament unfair practice
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises are upset that their businesses have been weakened by civil servants that conduct their own businesses. They understood that civil servants were allowed to do their own businesses but the nature of business should not have affected their performances at work.

Local entrepreneurs said that some civil servants sold the final products of their business to their own department at work thus depriving them of business opportunities and contracts.

"We would not mind if they conduct their business elsewhere such as at stalls. But a few civil servants use their connection to sell products at their own department," said one entrepreneur.

"This is unfair reduction of our business because they limited our chances of supplying similar products to the department.

"Furthermore we know that they have been using their time at work to sell their products.

"Their real performance at work hence deteriorated with emphasis put on improving the quality of their product."

Local businessmen said such civil servants should resign and compete with them on a fair ground.

"If they resign then they would know how difficult it is to do business when one has no connection whatsoever with the public agencies," they added.

The entrepreneurs said that the civil servants were at advantageous positions because they can apply for personal loans from banks to finance their projects.

"They need not worry about late payments from their own departments," said another entrepreneur.

"We are worried that their acts might close us down because they supply the products to their own departments thus limiting our contributions."

There are more than 5,784 SMEs in year 2000 and they contributed to 92 per cent of total employment in private sector and around 45 per cent of total employment nationwide.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin