THE Penang government hopes that entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs will take full advantage of the ongoing inaugural North Zone PMKS (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) Week at the SP Arena in Seberang Jaya.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development (KUSKOP) for selecting Penang as the first location to hold the three-day programme starting yesterday (June 2 to June 4), in conjunction with the National Entrepreneur Week (MUN) 2023.
“I hope all entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs present today will seize the opportunity provided throughout PMKS Week 2023 to obtain as much information as possible from business matching services as well as information on the assistance offered by various entrepreneurship development agencies.
“And I hope that they will leverage these opportunities to market products and services, and gain new knowledge to improve their businesses.
“The Penang government will continue to support and provide assistance and a conducive environment to help PMKS entrepreneurs.
“The state government intends to bring PMKS products to the international level, therefore the application of digital technology is very important to be mastered by entrepreneurs,” Chow said in his speech.
The opening ceremony was also attended by state Entrepreneurial Development, Trade and Industry Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain, Deputy Minister of Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development (KUSKOP) Senator Saraswathy Kandasamy, Machang Bubuk assemblyman Lee Khai Loon, Batu Uban assemblyman A. Kumaresan, KUSKOP deputy secretary general (Policy and Monitoring) Noor Afifah Abdul Razak, SME Corp Malaysia chief executive officer Rizal Nainy, Penang Development Corporation deputy CEO (Operations) Roslan Hassan (who represented PDC CEO Datuk Aziz Bakar).
Chow affirmed the state government’s commitment to being the backbone of entrepreneurs in Penang and extended a warm welcome to traders from neighbouring states such as the Perlis, Kedah and Perak.
He acknowledged that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are among the contributors to investment growth as well as playing a role as a catalyst for the state’s economic growth.
At the state level, he said Penang has launched several initiatives such as the Entrepreneurship One Culture” (K1B) campaign, digital strengthening programmes for 3,000 entrepreneurs since 2018, and the Go Digital Micro Entrepreneur Programme in 2021 to assist micro-entrepreneurs.
The state government has also collaborated with e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Foodpanda, Grab, PG Mall and AirAsia Grocer, benefiting a total of 42,935 SME entrepreneurs and contributing a gross merchandise value (GMV) growth of RM150 million in 2020.
Furthermore, the state government has provided RM45 million interest-free loans through PEKA Loan Scheme, benefiting 2,170 entrepreneurs.
All these efforts, Chow said, aligned with the Penang2030 vision to upgrade the people’s income through entrepreneurship.
Saraswathy emphasised the significance of SMEs as one of the pillars of the country’s economy.
She said that based on statistics released by the Department of Statistics of Malaysia in 2021, 97.4% of businesses registered in Malaysia are SMEs, which accounted for more than 1.2 million businesses.
This trend, she said, is mirrored globally where more than 95% of businesses in all economies around the world are SMEs.
In addition, she highlighted that the United Nations recognises the role of SMEs and has been celebrating International Micro Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day on June 27 since 2017.
Saraswathy said apart from Penang, PMKS Week would also be held in Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka and Pahang.
She said the celebration at the national level would be held at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur from July 7 to 9 with the presence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
During the North Zone PMKS Week, a total of 92 exhibitions/sales of PMKS products, 200 business matching sessions and 50 knowledge-sharing sessions through webinars, discussions and pocket talks would be held.
Following the opening ceremony, Chow, Saraswathy, Abdul Halim and other distinguished guests interacted with traders and exhibitors both inside and outside the hall.
During their walkabout, Chow even assisted a trader selling 2kg bottled cooking oil and chicken by ringing a bell and using a microphone to make a sales pitch . Within minutes, all the trader’s items were sold out at RM5 each, showcasing the tremendous response from the attendees.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Siew Chia En
Video by Darwina Mohd Daud
