In a recent interview with selected media outlets, Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Ramanan Ramakrishnan reiterated his reaffirmed his commitment to empowering Indian entrepreneurs and providing targeted support to low-income groups through his ministry's initiatives.
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00:00Critics of the Madani government will say,
00:03where do we see on the left and right, there are poor people.
00:07We are not saying that there are no poor people in our country.
00:10There is the hardcore poor.
00:12We have to take it step by step.
00:15Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister,
00:19Datuk Seri Ramanan Ramakrishnan, is marking his first year in office.
00:23He says, uplifting Indian entrepreneurs and supporting low-income groups
00:28are among his ministry's main focuses.
00:31One of the big things that we have done through the ministry
00:34is the programme PEN, Prosperity, Empowerment and a New Normal,
00:37which is under Amanah Iktia, 50 million.
00:40We have set aside for Indian women entrepreneurs.
00:44And it's one of the best programmes which is available out there
00:48because even if you are blacklisted and even if you are bankrupt,
00:52you are entitled to get this support and opportunity
00:57so that you can grow your business.
00:59Second is, of course, the Bank Rakyat Brief Eye Programme.
01:02Bank Rakyat Brief Eye Programme, we have allocated 50 million.
01:06And a lot of people have benefited from this
01:09because they are able to take their businesses to a very high level.
01:14Some have even gone to the international level based on the borrowings
01:17because on the Brief Eye Programme,
01:19you can borrow up to one million ringgit per entrepreneur.
01:23Other than that, of course, we have Spumi Goes Big.
01:26From the time Spumi was founded,
01:29Spumi has only had 30 million throughout its lifetime.
01:32For the Indian community, we have got it to 60 million,
01:36an additional 30 million, which is 100% increase.
01:39Of course, the other one is the IBAP, which I mentioned earlier,
01:42the Indian Business Accelerator Programme,
01:44where we had a fund which was available
01:47and we got approval from MOF to repurpose the fund.
01:52And the fund was used to give 61 companies of Indian ownership
02:00an opportunity to have a matching grant.
02:02And this was done within two weeks.
02:07So the total amount that we received in application was almost 20 million.
02:12So we have a very good response in that.
02:14And other than that, of course, we've had for the first time in 100 years,
02:20first time in 100 years, since its inception,
02:23we've had an Indian Cooperative Conference
02:26to put out a roadmap on how the cooperatives
02:32which are run by the Indian community can move forward.
02:38And we've given them grants totalling 30,000 each of them
02:41for participating and putting their cooperatives forward to us
02:49so that we can assist them.
02:51Ramanan also highlighted that within two years
02:54of the Medani government's administration,
02:56the number of people in hardcore poverty
02:59dropped significantly to over 17,000 individuals.
03:03He said to ensure these individuals do not fall back into extreme poverty,
03:07the government plans to provide more guidance,
03:09opportunities and responsibilities.
03:12We see, they say, poverty has been eliminated.
03:16But for me, the verse that I use,
03:19poverty has almost been eliminated.
03:23It's almost there. We are very, very near.
03:25Of course, many of our critics,
03:29who criticize the Medani government,
03:32will say, where do we see on the left and right,
03:35there are people who are poor.
03:36We are not saying that there are no poor people in our country.
03:39There is the hardcore poor.
03:41We have to take it step by step.
03:43We can't continue to help the hardcore poor.
03:48We want to go and help those who are poor.
03:50So it has to be a step-by-step process.
03:53It has to go through the market.
03:55So when we finish eliminating the extreme poverty,
03:59then we will try to eliminate poverty.
04:02There are two buckets.
04:04So we have to look at that.
04:06But recently, if we look at it,
04:08Indeed, there are many people who say,
04:11is there a border between the Indian community and the Chinese community?
04:16Actually, there isn't.
04:18If we look at it, many initiatives are being made
04:21for the Chinese village, the Indian village,
04:25Koyil, Tokong,
04:27new initiatives for the Indian community and the Chinese community.
04:30So far, look at the initiatives that have been carried out
04:34for the Indian community, especially in Cusco.
04:37136 million additional initiatives.
04:41We are doing it as one ministry.
04:43As for next year,
04:44Ramanan says four to five more new initiatives are being planned,
04:48adding that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
04:51has instructed for more schemes for the Indian community.
04:54We always discuss.
04:56We talk on the phone every week.
04:59Sometimes we meet once a month.
05:02When he talks to me,
05:04and the mandate he gives,
05:07and also the instructions he gives,
05:10he gives a lot of initiatives like this.
05:12We have a few new initiatives that are being studied
05:16and discussed with my team at my office
05:22to be implemented and will be announced in the future.
05:27He also said there should be more awareness about government initiatives,
05:31as the uptake can be very low in some areas.
05:34The media plays a big role
05:38because these programs get great reception through the media.
05:43Otherwise, no one would know that these initiatives exist.
05:47But one thing we have to look at,
05:50those who have received this benefit,
05:52the recipient,
05:54the recipient must at least express,
05:58not just thank you,
06:00but promote these initiatives
06:04so that more people can get the opportunity.
06:09Sometimes I understand,
06:11among some people I have spoken to,
06:13if we promote this,
06:16we will have more people asking for it.
06:19This means that their opportunities will be reduced.
06:22But that is a wrong idea.
06:25For example, I gave an example earlier,
06:26the SME Corp program under IBAP,
06:30the Business Accelerator Program for the Indian Community.
06:33Under IBAP, we only have RM6 million.
06:35This is a repurpose fund given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
06:40to be given specifically for the IBAP program.
06:43So, this program,
06:44we received a very good reception,
06:46up to more than RM20 million in requests.
06:50So, I want to see if this program is really needed.
06:55So, next year, I will increase it.
06:58I will ask for this funding from RM6 million,
07:02maybe RM10 million or RM15 million.
07:05But if this thing is not promoted
07:07and does not get widespread reception,
07:10I don't know if I want to increase this program,
07:13continue this program,
07:15or do other programs.