KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (KUSKOP) is always concerned about and committed to implementing inclusive entrepreneurial assistance, including for entrepreneurs from the Indian community.
Its Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri R. Ramanan, said the financial aid was implemented through initiatives such as the Indian Community Entrepreneur Development Scheme (SPUMI), SPUMI Goes Big by TEKUN Nasional and the Prosperity Empowerment and A New Normal for Indian Women (PENN) by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM).
“These two are not included in Budget 2024, but an initiative and collaboration between KUSKOP and TEKUN and AIM,“ he said at today’s question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.
He was replying to a question from S. Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput), who queried the amount of funding allocated for the socio-economic development of the Indian community under SPUMI and PENN and the details of the number of participants who received the loan until Sept 30, 2024, particularly in the Sungai Siput Parliamentary constituency.
Ramanan said that for the SPUMI programme, TEKUN Nasional had channelled RM482.6 million to 30,101 entrepreneurs from the Indian community from 2008 until Sept 30, 2024.
Ramanan said that during the same period, 764 Indian community entrepreneurs in the Sungai Siput area received SPUMI financing amounting to RM11.27 million.
For the PENN programme, Ramanan said AIM channelled RM22.7 million to 2,644 Indian entrepreneurs from Jan to Sept 30.
During the same period, he said 99 Indian community entrepreneurs in the Sungai Siput area received RM1.1 million PENN funding, while eight applications from the Sungai Siput Parliament constituency were accepted and approved for the SPUMI Goes Big programme.
To a supplementary question from Kesavan, who wanted to know the ministry’s actions to attract more young Indian entrepreneurs to participate in the financing scheme, Ramanan said his ministry had implemented many initiatives, such as opening promotion counters at exhibition programmes involving AIM and TEKUN and using social media platforms.
He said a series of briefings were also held with non-governmental organisations and agencies such as the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (MITRA) and the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KLSICCI).
