KUALA LUMPUR: The Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, Datuk Ewon Benedick, said that his ministry provides various entrepreneurship programs specifically for the people of Sabah.
He said that for this purpose, his ministry is adopting the Look East Policy domestically to empower entrepreneurship and cooperative initiatives in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Without undermining the existing focus of the ministry nationwide, it is the aspiration of KUSKOP to provide additional focus to entrepreneurs and cooperatives in East Malaysia, encompassing Sabah and Sarawak.
“In the context of the state of Sabah, several steps have been planned and are being implemented, including strengthening cooperation with the Sabah State Government through the establishment of the Sabah Entrepreneurship Development Coordination Committee and the District Level Entrepreneur, Cooperative, Trader, and Small Business Development Council;
“The Ministry is also implementing specific programs for the entrepreneurial community in Sabah, such as the Tamu Desa Premises Development Program and the Bumiputera Enterprise Enhancement Program (BEEP) PLUS,” he said while delivering the winding-up speech on the 2025 Budget debate in the Senate here on Thursday.
He said this in response to the issue raised by Senator Datuk Nelson Wences Angang regarding the ministry’s plans to empower the people of Sabah through entrepreneurial opportunities.
Ewon said that to facilitate access to information from agencies under KUSKOP, his ministry has opened and increased the number of branches of agencies such as INSKEN, Pernas, and TEKUN Nasional in Sabah.
In addition, he said, the ministry through SME Corp will also open a micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) hub in Sabah. He said that in terms of financing by KUSKOP’s financing agencies in Sabah, from January to November 2024, a total of 50,791 entrepreneurs and cooperatives received financing amounting to RM694.8 million.
“The Ministry has also introduced the Tamu Entrepreneur Financing Scheme by TEKUN Nasional specifically for traders and vendors at the Tamu Market in Sabah.
“As of November 2024, a total of 819 entrepreneurs have received financing from this scheme, amounting to RM3.2 million,” he said.
