PETALING JAYA: A backbencher has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to set up a ministry dedicated to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) when he shakes up his Cabinet.
Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung pointed out that MSMEs contributed RM652 billion to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year, or about 39.5%, and employed about 50% of the Malaysian workforce.
However, Lee said the sector has been subject to historical neglect and fragmented policies, leaving MSME operators with the notion that Putrajaya does not pay enough attention to supporting them.
The PKR central committee member said this raised the question whether the government’s various ministries and agencies paid enough attention to their operational realities.
To address this, Lee suggested that all government departments and agencies that involve MSMEs be parked under one ministry instead of being spread across several.
Currently, it involves the ministries of entrepreneur development and cooperatives; investment, trade and industry; rural and regional development; as well as domestic trade and cost of living.
“Only by having a dedicated ministry can the historical neglect of MSMEs be systematically rectified, and only then will the millions of ordinary enterprises finally have a voice in the Cabinet.
“If there is one thing the prime minister can do to show that the Madani government truly cares and reacts to the outcry of ordinary enterprises, it would be by creating a dedicated MSME ministry in the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle,” he said in a statement.
