“Selangor is the most developed state in Malaysia and has contributed 24.3% to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If Selangor fails during this big COVID-19 test, the country will also be at risk,” he said.
is the main reason he gave for starting Selangor’s programme in assisting local businesses.
“A large number of businesses are based in Selangor or at least have branches/outlets of operations in Selangor, particularly in the Klang Valley. Many businesses have been impacted and the state government feels that it is our obligation to assist them during this trying time.
“Selangor also complements the Federal government initiatives to provide as best as it can for the citizens of Selangor as economic development is also the most highly affected due to the number of businesses present in Selangor,” he said.
Amirudin took the opportunity to explain the various programmes the state has to assist businesses and entrepreneurs.
He says Selangor Advance, for example, is a Selangor State Government initiative by Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) (MBI).
“This initiative was introduced to help increase the cash flow of SMEs which in turn would assist economic development during times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this initiative, contractors and service providers will get paid for the work carried out in a short period of time. This will be able to help businesses to have sufficient funds to ensure the viability of their businesses.
“To date, Selangor Advance has helped more than 300 businesses stay afloat and thereby preserving more than 25,000 jobs by having these businesses maintaining in operations.”
Affordable Homes
From a broader perspective, Selangor is developing Rumah Selangorku Idaman through MBI and Rumah Selangorku Harapan through Lembaga Perumahan Hartanah Selangor (LPHS) to accelerate the economic development in the state.
Amirudin said both are state projects that aim to provide affordable, quality and modern homes for the targeted group of the rakyat in Selangor.
“More than 50,000 units of affordable houses will be built under the project which takes place at various locations in Selangor. The state also facilitates loan financing between buyers and developers.
“We believe that this development will have a positive chain reaction to the economic cycle to the people, who have opportunity to own affordable homes, the construction industry, where many activities will involve such as job opportunities and supply of materials as well as the financial industry that may see the rise in loan applications,” he said. “Apart from that, we have in place a mechanism called the 100 Day Policy that will facilitate businesses in establishing from what usually takes around 9 months, down to nearly 3 months from application processing to getting approvals to the actual start of construction.”
He said this alone will accelerate the speed of doing business in Selangor, “which is what is expected of the most developed state in Malaysia.”
Another initiative worth mentioning is Selangor E-Bazaar that has been held four times.
They are E-Bazar 2020, E-Bazar 11.1.1, E-Bazar CNY 2021 and E-Bazar Raya 2021 and has managed to culminate a ripple effect of RM2.95 billion to the state from an initial RM144.7 million worth of direct sales.
A lot of livelihoods have been uplifted and a whopping 74,837 new sellers have been successfully ‘converted’ to digitalisation to the currently 294,119-strong cohort of E-Bazaar sellers that Selangor has proudly invested in.
On financing for SMEs, the Menteri Besar said Selangor Advance started off to provide shariah-compliant supply chain financing to assist SMEs including contractors and suppliers of the Selangor State Government, together with its agencies and state-linked companies.
He said this has now expanded to include contractors and suppliers of accredited private companies and government organisations, including ministries, departments, agencies and government-linked companies or GLC.
“At inception, Selangor Advance aimed to help businesses improve their cash flow position by providing supply chain financing. The State Government understands that cash flow is extremely important to keep businesses in operation, especially in times of this pandemic. Many businesses have experienced delayed payment, unpaid dues and some are just not able to wait for the end of the credit term to get their payment.
“Selangor Advance fills this gap by offering an option to vendors/ suppliers doing business on credit terms to expedite receipt of payment, which they can use as revolving capital and keep their businesses alive.
“Due to the tremendous response that the programme has received over the past year, this initiative has expanded to offer comprehensive supply chain financing facilities in order to be a one-stop centre for SMEs to reach out for financing, especially those who have trouble going through banking bureaucracy,” he said.
Selangor Advance now offers various facilities which support businesses in their operations and business proposals for each phase of the SMEs’ projects and businesses, such as tender support letters, performance bonds, work insurance, term loans, letter of undertaking, letter of credit, revolving credit, industrial hire purchase and factoring.
Selangor Advance aims to help SMEs with hassle-free applications for various types of supply chain financing and will be here to stay post-pandemic.
More information can be obtained at www.selangoradvance.com.my
Platform For Micro-Entrepreneurs
Asked why Selangor introduced another program, the Platform Selangor or PLATSelangor, a platform for micro-entrepreneurs, Amirudin said it was set up to provide free digital marketing and promotion for micro-entrepreneurs in Selangor, especially the small hawkers (penjaja) and small grocery store owners (peruncit) groups.
Micro-entrepreneurs are among the group that is most affected by the Covid-19 economic fallout and the state finds it imperative to provide such a platform to assist them in their reach of a wider customer base without meeting them face-to-face.
The aim is to ensure their business remains sustainable during the lockdown period. “In fact, we believe this platform will help these micro-entrepreneurs recover even faster after the pandemic ends,” he said.
Despite the existence of other online marketing platforms, PLATS differs because it is part of a larger ecosystem comprising of other state initiatives that are also meant to help micro-entrepreneurs.
“PLATS covers digital promotion, where we assist the micro-entrepreneurs to promote their products via online, microcredit financing, free mobile data internet via the “Data Internet Selangor” initiative and also logistic assistance where we work together with delivery partners to broaden the reach of the micro- entrepreneurs’ products.
“We also have “Rakan Digital Selangor” where we assist the micro-entrepreneurs to have their products on social media and do online promotion for better visibility. This holistic and synergistic approach by PLATS to help micro-entrepreneurs will bring multiple benefits to them.
“As such, I would like to invite micro-entrepreneurs in Selangor to register their business on www.platselangor.com”.
When asked about the funding mechanism and why the community should reach out to the State for funding, Amirudin said Selangor is the only state to introduce micro-credit programs at the state level through various entities to provide financial assistance to entrepreneurs.
“Under the Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated (MBI), there is an organisation called Yayasan Hijrah or better known as Hijrah, which represents the state government to provide financial assistance for the entrepreneurs ranging from RM1,000 to RM50,000.”
There are a few schemes introduced by Hijrah especially for them:
- MICRO CREDIT SCHEME, a scheme that provides easy, fast and non-burdensome additional capital for small enterprises. Participants will have the opportunity to build up strategic networking among themselves
- ZERO TO HERO SCHEME, specially designed for rakyat Selangor under the B40 category who wish to start a business. It is also part of the Entrepreneur Development Program. It is opened to the people residing in Selangor who wish to improve the standard of living. Hijrah Selangor through its anchor company will provide loans in the form of a business package as a start.
- NIAGA DARUL EHSAN (NaDI) SCHEME, a program that was introduced to assist the people of Selangor who have lost their income due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and also for entrepreneurs to start a business but does not have adequate documentation to register with the Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM). Hijrah provides all the assistance needed to facilitate entrepreneurs under this category for them to continue to gain income for their living.
- GO DIGITAL SCHEME is a business package that incorporates systems and/or equipment, training and monitoring as well as working capital. Under this scheme, Hijrah providestrainingforentrepreneurs to equip themselves on digital eco-system knowledge and online marketing to increase productivity, sales and income.
The state endeavours to provide financial assistance directly to the entrepreneurs with minimal documentation requirements, fast approval and an affordable weekly payback system.
The state also emphasises the use of the digitalisation method amongst the entrepreneurs, by providing assistance to those in need.
Future Plans: Unicorn Selangor
The state plans to launch Selangor Innovation Fund, a venture capital fund that will invest into, amongst others, technology start-ups that act as enablers for SMEs and small entrepreneurs to acquire new customers, increase their revenue or optimise their costs and processes.
Henceforth, the Menteri Besar said, Selangor is aiming at having at least one unicorn in the state.
He told Business Today it is high time for the country to increase the number of unicorns and with the venture capital platform in Selangor, he says the state is close to identifying startups that can emerge as unicorns in Selangor.
“Examples of this would be start-ups in exciting domains such as artificial intelligence, software-as-a-service and big data that deploy their ‘tech stack’ in areas such as marketing, procurement, distribution and delivery.”
Public Health
Expanding his views on the COVID-19 pandemic he said it is undoubtedly this generation’s greatest challenge, and possibly one of the deadliest ever, after the great wars of the past.
“If you take just the health impact and look solely at the numbers, one may say this virus has taken 4.3 million lives.
“But if you take the underlying economic impact – people who have lost their jobs, had their livelihoods affected, the numerous businesses we have seen forced to close shop – this will take a much longer time to recover from. Of course, at the start, we did not know this. What we knew was to seek answers to the many questions we were posed at the start.”
He said the answers were found by following the science, embracing experimentation, embodying the spirit of an agile government able to adapt to the rapidly changing needs which were constantly presenting themselves. “So I wouldn’t call it so much a secret, rather a willingness to getting things done.”
His last words during the interview were on his three years at the helm of the richest state in the country.
For him, it is one and a half years living at home trying to manage the pandemic in Selangor.
“I certainly was not given this brief when I first took office but then again, COVID-19 is a first for every leader at the national or state level across the globe.
But at the same time, I have been blessed with a solid team of committed civil servants in Selangor who have taken this not as a burden, but as a challenge to rise up to.
“Throughout this process, we have had the growing realisation on the importance of public health, responding swiftly to challenges while keeping on track with the vision for Selangor to be ASEAN’s Premier Smart State by 2025,” he said.
Besides making Selangor the first Smart State in Southeast Asia, he said the people of Selangor are ready to make the fullest use of the opportunities and ways of life technology can offer.
“Prior to taking office, my predecessor put in place a plan for Selangor to be the region’s first smart state. Whether by design or chance, that idea has helped Selangor adapt to the pressing needs of COVID-19 through digitalisation.
“I believe it is wise to accelerate this plan so that Selangor not only has the infrastructure required to be recognised as Southeast Asia’s first Smart State but that the people of Selangor are ready to make the fullest use of the opportunities and ways of life technology can offer.”
However, he said, there is also a need to realise an agenda of common humanity, of narrowing the gap between the haves and have nots, ensuring that every Selangorian has a shot at making it in Malaysia’s most developed state.
“Of course, there are limitations to what a state can do in Malaysia’s heavily federalised structure, so my hope is this can be renegotiated moving forward for better inclusive participation in the decision-making processes.
“Selangor will continue using the levers of power at our disposal to continue striving for meaningful change and reform to continue being Malaysia’s model state for others to follow.
