KUCHING: The government continues to provide various forms of assistance and initiatives under the economic stimulus packages to support the recovery and sustainability of businesses, particularly the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (Medac) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said economic stimulus packages introduced by the government so far were worth RM340 billion. Of these, more than RM140 billion or 40 percent had been allocated to the SMEs sector.
He pointed out that SMEs comprised 97.2 percent or 1.15 million of the total business establishments in Malaysia.
“Most of the SMEs in Malaysia are micro businesses which account for 78.4 percent of the total registered SMEs and there are close to 1 million unregistered informal businesses nationwide.
“Both micro and informal businesses are most vulnerable to challenges in today’s post Covid-19 business environment as they do not have much case reserves to sustain their operations.
“Thus, various forms of assistance and initiatives such as funding, wage subsidy, tax deferment, moratorium, exemption and postponement of rentals, hiring and training assistance, digitalisation, automation and technology transformation programmes as well as matching grants have been provided,” he explained.
Wan Junaidi said the ministry was prepared to assist both the federal and state governments in coming up with a more targeted approach on how to assist SMEs to weather these trying times.
He said the prolonged Covid-19 crisis had severely affected entrepreneurs and caused business fatigue.
“The year 2020 saw SMEs struggling to face challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The future continues to be uncertain and requires urgent need for business operators to adapt to e-commerce.
“As the ministry in charge of entrepreneur development and cooperatives, we are committed to providing assistance to all segments of entrepreneurs including new entrepreneurs or start-ups, micro enterprises, SMEs, cooperatives, social enterprises as well as informal entrepreneurs,” he said.
Wan Junaidi also urged SMEs to identify for themselves the most suitable assistance and programmes for their businesses.
“Besides Medac and its agencies, there are other forms of assistance and programmes offered to SMEs by other ministries and its agencies. Among the ministries that have programmes for SMEs including entrepreneurs are the Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development as well as Ministry of Finance,” he said.
Among the programmes being implemented under the ministry and its agencies are:
Medac
• Protégé Ready-To-Work
• I4.0 Accelerator Programme (ACE)
• Technopreneurship Program for Young Graduates (TpYG)
• Adoption of Digital Solution (ADS)
• Recovery Initiative for Social Enterprise (RISE)
Tekun
• Micro credit financing for Bumiputera micro enterprises
• Micro credit financing for women entrepreneurs – Skim Pembiayaan Usahawan Wanita
• Micro credit financing for Indian entrepreneurs – Skim Pembiayaan Usahawan Masyarakat India (SPUMI)
• Micro credit financing for other communities
• Micro credit financing for informal entrepreneurs – Skim Pembiayaan Usahawan Informal (SPIN)
• Mobilepreneur
Insken
• Training, capacity and capability development programmes such as:
• Bumiputera Business Coaching (IBC)
• Online Onboarding Coaching Programme (E-Board)
• Agriculture Coaching and Industry Development Programme (ACID)
SME Bank
• Skim Anjakan Usahawan (SAU)
• Business Export Programme (BEP)
• Pembiayaan Pelancongan
• Titan Creation Initiative
• Upward Migration Programme
Bank Rakyat
• Funding for Micro & SMEs
• Funding for cooperatives
SME Corp
• Tunas Usahawan Belia Bumiputera (TUBE)
• Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Programme (BEEP)
• Business Accelerator Programme (BAP)
• Galakan Eksport Bumiputera (GEB)
• Pembangunan Perniagaan Usahawan Mikro (BIZME)
UDA
• UDA BIZZNITA
• UDA one stop retail centre
• UDA 4Youth
PNS
• Franchise Development Programmes
• Business in Transformation Programme (BIT)
• PNS Digital Initiative (PYBLI)
• Rent-to-own initiative
