Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the reports would allow the government to identify any overlapping programmes and reduce wastage.- NSTP/AZIAH AZMEE
KUALA LUMPUR: Government agencies managing entrepreneurial and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) programmes have been asked to submit performance reports in two weeks orc risk losing their allocations.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this was to ensure the initiatives were cost-effective and reduce wastage of government coffers.
"During the National SME Development Council (NSDC) meeting I chaired today, we have agreed that the agencies managing 40 such programmes, with a total allocation of RM32.8 billion, need to submit the report, or we will 'take it back'.
"We have seen positive developments among MSMEs as some micro-enterprises have upgraded to small enterprises, while the latter have expanded to medium enterprises," he told reporters after chairing the meeting at SME Corp headquarters today.
Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, said the committee had agreed to mandatory reporting of related programmes at the ministerial, agencies and state government levels.
Up to mid-2024, he said, a total of 286 entrepreneurial initiatives and programmes, with a total allocation of RM15.06 billion were carried out under the SME Integrated Plan of Action (SMEIPA), a 10.8 per cent increase compared to last year.
He said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) also reported MSME contributed 39.1 per cent or RM613.1 billion of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) last year, with a five per cent growth compared to the previous year.
On the 2025 Budget to be tabled in October, Zahid said the country's financial planning for the upcoming year would be pragmatic, focusing on creating a balanced budget.
He said his ministry would focus not only on infrastructure development in rural areas, but also on creating multiplier effects for the economy.
"A total of RM1 billion is allocated to some 19,000 villages, which allows the locals the opportunity to generate income.
"So, apart from people's wellbeing, we also emphasise on the economic development (in the different areas)."
SME Corp chief executive officer Rizal Nainy said the number of micro-enterprises in Malaysia had shrunk to 767,421 last year, compared to 923,667 in 2022, while small-enterprises and medium-enterprises had seen a 35.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent increase, respectively, within the same period.
Also present were Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick and deputy Datuk R. Ramanan. - New Straits Times
