Datuk Naroden Majais
Husni Salleh
KUCHING: Potential entrepreneurs within the Bumiputera community in Sarawak have the assets to develop economic opportunities, according to Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Bumiputera Entrepreneurs Development), Datuk Naroden Majais.
“The majority of Bumiputeras in Sarawak have land – big or small. If we really utilise this land and develop it, we have all the assistance such as subsidies and grants. The other strengths are manpower and experience.
“We can control one sector of the economy which is food production,” he said, noting that 70 per cent of Sarawakians are Bumiputeras, of which the majority is in the low income group.
Naroden cited the example of the Tanjung Manis Halal Hub on which proper focus would open up the minds of the community on the food production sector.
“There will be a lot of spillover effects where the locals who have land can develop the supply chain to the halal hub from where the products go out to the global market,” he stated.
Naroden said this at a press conference following the official launch of Jejak 2012 in Sarawak by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and witnessed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop.
Yakcop announced a facilitation fund of RM100 million for Sarawak and its related development corridor, the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).
Commenting on this, Unit Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera (Teraju) chief executive officer Husni Salleh remarked, “The facilitation fund has been allocated to the corridor in Sarawak, where it will be catalyst for investment by Bumiputera companies in Sarawak.
“The fund will be allocated to properly identified sectors such as ecotourism, food production, oil and gas. The spillover effect from these sectors can bring about even more investments within the corridor in Sarawak.
Husni stated that the facilitation fund would be given in the form of reimbursable grants where the government would give grants amounting to 15 per cent of the projects if the costs exceeded RM20 million each.
The grants would be given in stages and not in full amounts upfront.
However, the 15 per cent of the project cost would be granted if the project had been properly identified as being a qualified Bumiputera-based initiative project, he said.