Datuk Ewon Benedick
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 22): Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister (KUSKOP) Datuk Ewon Benedick said he will provide additional focus to Sabah and Sarawak to develop the micro, small and medium enterprise (PMKS) sector without affecting the existing focus in the ministry.
He said this is because the two states are not only lagging behind in terms of entrepreneurship programs but also support in terms of infrastructure facilities including telecommunications coverage.
“We know that Sabah is not only straggling in terms of entrepreneurship program opportunities and support from the government but also infra facilities with problematic telecommunications information.
“Even in my own area, Penampang, there are many villages that do not have internet access despite being close the the city.
“Therefore, this is a vision that I have expressed to the ministry and agencies. I just want to focus more on Sabah and Sarawak in the PMKS sector without affecting the ministry’s existing focus,” he said during the Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s Special Narrative Talk, recently.
Ewon, who is also a member of the Kadamaian State Legislative Assembly and Member of Parliament for Penampang, said that in order to empower businesses digitally, internet coverage needs to be improved.
Due to this, he said one of his ministry’s focus is to empower PMKS through digitization technology as it is a new dimension in business.
“There is no doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic and the movement control order (MCO) have pushed us to adopt a new culture in business.
“The pandemic also forced us to think of new methods in business and administration because most of us are at home and there is not much movement.
“This gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to continue their businesses digitally and it has been proven that many have been successful, an example is Grab,” he said.
When asked about the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in this country, Ewon said among them are packaging and marketing issues.
He then brought up the National Entrepreneurship Institute (INSKEN) as one of the agencies under his ministry that provides training for entrepreneurs to combat such issues.
“Before they were trained by INSKEN, the participants faced various challenges including difficulties in developing their products in terms of packaging, online marketing and building a business network.
“However, after following the training conducted by INSKEN, I am very proud and happy to say that I was personally able to increase sales by more than 200 per cent,” he said.