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.
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