PUTRAJAYA (May 14): The government has allocated RM15.11 billion to implement 270 entrepreneurship programmes for this year, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, said the allocation reported through the SME Integrated Plan of Action (SMEIPA) 2023/2024 will be used by 479,350 recipients.

He said all the programmes had been planned by various ministries, agencies and state governments.

"I see that the existing SMEIPA reporting needs to be strengthened, so that it can be used as the main reference by all stakeholders, especially ministries and agencies that are in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, so that there is no more overlap in the implementation of MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) programmes throughout country," he said.

Zahid said this in a statement after chairing a meeting of the National Entrepreneur and SME Development Council (NESDC) 2/2024.

He said that according to the same report, an average of 191 entrepreneurship and MSME development programmes were implemented every year with an annual commitment of RM9.6 billion.

"In fact, in 2023 alone, RM15.48 billion was spent on 258 entrepreneurship and MEMS development programmes," said Zahid, who also chairs the NESDC. 

He said the meeting also agreed that the MSME status registration system should be integrated with other main systems, such as the Central Database Hub (Padu), the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) database, and GovTech Malaysia.

"This is to increase synergy between ministries and agencies, and further improve the government's delivery system, especially in entrepreneurship development," he said.

According to him, the MSME status registration system is aimed at improving the coordination aspect of the entrepreneur development programme implemented by SME Corp Malaysia, in ensuring that the programmes carried out are more targeted at entrepreneurs and MSMEs while avoiding leakage.

Commenting further, he said the meeting also confirmed the addition of existing members to strengthen cooperation between ministries in empowering MSME development in the country.

He said the increase in membership involved the secretaries general of the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) and the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti), apart from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Cooperatives Development.

"I believe that the involvement of the KKDW and Miti in the membership of the NESDC will enable a more integrated alignment and coordination for all entrepreneur development programmes and MSMEs in particular to penetrate the global market and expand access to rural areas," he said.

Zahid also suggested that all ministries and agencies always ensure that the entrepreneur development agenda is implemented comprehensively and integrated because that action is important to avoid duplication of programmes, create good transparency in government services, and reduce wastage of government resources.