KUCHING: The sluggish economic growth and uncertainties surrounding it can actually become an opportunity for small and medium-scale businesses to venture into different fields.
In pointing this out, Assistant Minister in Chief Minister’s Office (Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development) Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais the government had injected RM6 billion to stimulate the small and medium-scale enterprises under the 2016 Budget.
“The oil and gas companies are experiencing the (economic) impact the most. The small-scale businesses have lesser risks,” he spoke at the closing of the seminar on ‘Tanjung Manis Halal Hub Investment Potential’at the old State LegislativeAssembly Complex yesterday.
Naroden added that those in the small and medium-scale segment would surely be employing workers and at the same time, ensuring that the people would still have purchasing power.
“The industrial segment is the catalyst towards more domestic spending; hence, this would stimulate domestic demands and eventually, the domestic economy.”
Moreover, Naroden said with 300 million Muslims around the world, the scale of opportunities for business was very vast — local entrepreneurs just needed to fulfil the demands and come up with their own halal-certified products.
“The state government is considering joint ventures between investors and local land owners. We are looking at the right formula where these land owners will be the contract farmers,” he said.
Naroden said those still unemployed but were interested in contract farming, could contact his ministry’s secretariat to know more about such programmes, especially in Tanjung Manis.
The ceremony yesterday was witnessed by State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani and Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam (DMDI) president Senator Tan Sri Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam.