Entrepreneurial Development Ministry suggests Mara be put under its purview
KUALA LUMPUR: The Entrepreneurial Development Ministry has suggested to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Mara and other entrepreneur development agencies be placed under its purview.
Its deputy minister, Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli, said: “My minister (Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof) has suggested to the prime minister that our newly-revived ministry take over the jurisdiction of Mara and other entrepreneur development agencies.
“The final decision lies with the prime minister. We will wait for allocation from the Finance Ministry to kickstart our ministry’s operation.”
Hatta was speaking after chairing a dialogue with 22 Malaysian Retail Chain Association (MRCA) council members, led by its president, Datuk Seri Garry Chua, here yesterday.
Shortly after assuming power following the 14th General Elections on May 9, the Pakatan Harapan government, under the leadership of Dr Mahathir, revived the Entrepreneurial Development Ministry, abolished by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2009.
Mara currently reports to the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, while other government agencies, such as Tekun Nasional and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, had been placed under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department.
Hatta said he took note of issues and suggestions raised by MRCA, which represents more than 450 small businesses commanding some 60 per cent of the market share in the country’s food and beverage sector, as well as retail services space.
MRCA general manager Simon Wong said: “Hatta gathered feedback, particularly on the challenges in rehiring foreign labours, and the impact of the hike in minimum monthly wages to RM1,500 from RM1,000.”
Wong said the government’s proposal to raise the monthly minimum wage from RM1,000 to RM1,500 could have a negative impact on MRCA members, most of whom were small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs and business owners.
“A study is needed to realign basic workers’ rights and employers’ cost of doing business. The minimum wage proposal, if implemented, will hurt businesses. We are monitoring the issue closely.”
Last month, Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran announced that the government would determine the new minimum wage for the private sector.
Wong said MRCA urged the government to draw up guidelines in providing adequate supply of labour to support existing operations and future expansion of retail businesses.
“When our members requested for foreign workers to support their businesses, they were always given different instructions that are confusing and, to some extent, failed to resolve the labour shortage.
“There is no standard operating procedure in the approval of foreign workers.
“With the government going on the offensive to flush out illegal workers, and the difficulty in obtaining new labour, business operations could be disrupted.”
Earlier this month, the Immigration Department launched Op Mega 3.0 to reduce the number of illegal workers in the country, which is estimated to be two million.
Earlier, Hatta launched the Malaysia International Retail and Franchise Exhibition (MIRF) 2018, which started on Thursday and ends today.
Wong said MIRF was a series of exhibition by retailers and selected franchisers and this year, MRCA had targeted RM70 million in gross sales.
“This is the third year MRCA is organising MIRF. In 2016, the event garnered RM60 million and last year, it rose to RM65 million.”