KLUANG: The Defence Ministry will create 1,000 entrepreneurs each year from among non-pensionable members of the armed forces beginning this year.
Its deputy minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said the government had allocated RM50 million for the training programme to be implemented with the ex-servicemen’s corporation, the Perbadanan Hal Ehwal Bekas Angkatan Tentera (Perhebat).
“A lab on entrepreneurship, combining the expertise of academicians and government agencies’ officers chaired by the director-general of Perhebat will prepare the programme module,” he said after attending a briefing on the Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA)
at Mahkota Camp, here, yesterday.
Abdul Latiff said the ministry’s officers had gone round the country to gather data and find suitable candidates from among non-pensionable ex-servicemen to be turned into entrepreneurs.
The deputy minister who is also the chairman of the programme’s steering committee, said currently there were about 125,000 non-pensionable ex-servicemen nationwide.
“The government is very serious about helping ex-servicemen,” he said, adding that the programme also carried out ‘psychological-metric’ tests in choosing candidates who could meet the criteria to become entrepreneurs.
He said those who went through the programme could apply for business loans from various sources like Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), Tekun and the banks.— Bernama