Sabah’s Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Phoong Jin Zhe and Federal Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick have discussed in-depth collaboration across departments to foster the development of Sabah businesses.

They hope to secure a bigger budget for Sabah’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the upcoming federal government budget.

Phoong expressed that he has actively maintained a close working relationship Ewon to discuss ways to further develop Sabah’s businesses. He pointed out that according to a World Bank report, Sabah businesses lack the ability to export their products, which has hindered their growth. Sabah has one of the lowest export-to-production ratios in the country.

“I have conveyed to Datuk Ewon Benedick that for Sabah’s businesses to make significant progress in the days ahead, the federal government must provide more assistance to Sabah and work together with the Sabah government to add value to Sabah businesses. This will give them the opportunity to connect with Peninsular Malaysia and international markets, thereby boosting Sabah’s exports,” said Phoong.

He also revealed that relying solely on the financial assistance provided by the Sabah government is insufficient for the development of Sabah businesses.

He hopes that the federal government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will focus on the development of Sabah’s business sector in the upcoming budget, bringing good news for Sabah businesses.

“I have had numerous discussions with Datuk Ewon Benedick about the need for the federal government to increase funding for the development of Sabah businesses, and Datuk Ewon Benedick is highly supportive of this. We are now brainstorming together on how to secure more significant assistance for Sabah businesses in next year’s budget so that more Sabah businesses can benefit from it.

“Recently, the Sabah government has agreed to establish the Sabah Entrepreneurship Development Coordination Committee (JPPKNS) to assist the Sabah government in coordinating current business development plans and addressing issues related to business development in Sabah.

This committee is one of the policies actively promoted by Datuk Ewon Benedick, and we are expected to hold our first meeting in October to start serving and assisting the Sabah government in coordinating Sabah business development matters.” Phoong emphasized that establishing the Sabah Entrepreneurship

Development Coordination Committee is not an easy task, as it involves communication and cooperation between the federal and state government agencies. However, he believes that working together with Ewon, who also hails from Sabah, to lead this coordination committee will greatly enhance efforts to promote Sabah business development.

Both parties share the goal of helping Sabah to leapfrog with the development progress of other states and seek more opportunities for Sabah.

Phoong also pointed out that promoting Sabah business development cannot rely solely on government initiatives; private enterprises must cooperate fully with the government to uncover more opportunities in the Sabah business sector.

The Federal Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development (KUSKOP) has already implemented several policies and activities beneficial to Sabah business development. However, it is regrettable that Sabah’s local businesses often miss out on participating and expanding due to a lack of timely information about these policies and activities.

“I understand that the Federal Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development does not have a dedicated unit in Sabah to promote the policies and activities it implements. Therefore, I have instructed my ministry to provide the necessary assistance and coordination to the KUSKOP in the future. This will make my ministry one of the channels for connecting with Sabah businesses and help promote the policies and activities implemented by the federal government so that Sabah businesses can more easily access this information and benefit from it.”

Phoong stated that he will continue to maintain close cooperation with Ewon and work together to urge the federal government to allocate more funding for Sabah business development in the upcoming budget.

This will enable both parties to provide more financial assistance to Sabah’s local businesses, enhance their competitiveness, and seek more development opportunities for Sabah, ensuring that Sabah keeps pace with the development of other states.”

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by The Borneo Post

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