KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 -- Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng has urged the government to introduce immediate financial relief measures for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) facing rising operational costs linked to the Middle East conflict.

He said escalating logistics expenses, volatile raw material prices and supply chain instability, compounded by concerns over oil prices, were threatening the survival of Malaysian businesses.

"The time is now for the Malaysian government to act immediately to implement financial relief policies for Malaysian businesses, especially micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to save them from a crisis of survival impacted by the escalating costs of the Middle-East war," Lim said in a stat...