Minister Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi assures borrowers in the micro small and informal business that agency under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, Tekun Nasional is now different and offers financial assistance without the usual hassle.
Calling on entrepreneurs to stop going to money lenders and Ah Longs who charge exorbitant interest and worse the potential risk of harassments, Junaidi asks them to head to the agency instead. This was highlighted after MEDAC received reports that many entrepreneurs are turning to loan sharks instead of going to the designated government agencies to borrow money.
Since taking over the ministry last year, he said that he had made sure that loan application process under TEKUN is simplified, with lesser paperwork, and shorter processing time. In addition, even those blacklisted with CTOS and
CCRIS are also eligible to apply. “For those who need to borrow money for business purposes, please come and
see us and not the Ah Longs. Our interest rates are so much lower and we have your best interest at heart.
“Our financing programmes also aim to give entrepreneurs whose businesses are badly affected by the pandemic a second chance. We want to see them succeed. We also have other supporting agencies such as INSKEN to help train
them with new skills to be able to cope with today’s challenging business environment,” he added. Junaidi highlighted that TEKUN, in December last year, has introduce a special financing scheme for informal business operators simply called Skim Pembiayaan Informal (SPIN).
A total of RM50 million has been allocated under this scheme, which will benefit 10,000 informal businesses all over the country. This scheme offers RM1,000 to RM5,000 loans with up to three years repayment period. As of July this year, the agency has disbursed RM19.47 million worth of loans under SPIN to 3,309 informal business operators nationwide. Selangor currently tops the list with total loan value of RM3.15 million (390 recipents) followed by Sarawak at RM3.04 million (589 recipients) and and Terengganu at RM2.54 million (469 recipients). “
These loans are still available according to the Minister and hopes more informal businesses will come to Tekun and apply for this financing facility to help them.
