Spurring undergraduates to develop entrepreneurial spirit
KUALA LUMPUR: Nur ‘Atieqah Mohd Zainudin is one enterprising young lady.
Currently doing her master’s programme in psychology at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in Tanjung Malim, Perak, the 26year-old is also trying her hand at business and has an online shop selling apparel for Muslims and pilgrims performing the umrah.
Whenever the opportunity arises, she also sets up stalls to sell her goods at carnivals and other public events.
Her business generates an income of about RM1,000 to RM2,000 a month which may seem like a paltry sum but Nur ‘Atieqah is not demoralised.
“I’ve always been interested in business, thanks to the influence of my mother who used to work hard at her business whilst working in a factory,” she told Bernama.
She said many Malaysian women have also made it big in business and their success was a source of inspiration to her.
“Even Prophet Muhammad’s wife Siti Khadijah was a successful entrepreneur,” said Nur ‘Atieqah, who is married and has a one-yearold son.
There is no excuse for young people like her to sit idly by whilst waiting for job offers to come to them, she said, adding that they should, by right, seize the various opportunities provided by the government to improve their standard of living and promote entrepreneurship among the younger generation.
Nur ‘Atieqah said she herself had benefited from the Ministry of Higher Education’s MyBrain15 programme, which is among the government’s initiatives to enable graduates who have yet to find employment to improve their knowledge and skills so that they are better prepared to face the dynamic economic landscape.
“I’m thankful for the (MyBrain15) programme because if not for the financial assistance I received from the government, I would have had to take a loan to complete my (postgraduate) studies,” she added.
In a move to encourage more undergraduates to start their own business ventures, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM or Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia) implemented the 1Student 1Business scheme on Jan 1 this year. Under the scheme, all students from public or private institutions of higher learning are exempted from all business registration charges (under the Registration of Business Act 1956) if they register they businesses with SSM.
Nur ‘Atieqah said she took advantage of this offer in February when she registered her company, Atieq Exclusive, with SSM.
She believed the scheme was a good start for students who wish to pursue their interest in running their own enterprises.
“Once the company is registered with SSM, the student’s mindset becomes more focused and serious about getting the business going,” she said.
Nur ‘Atieqah, however, cautioned undergraduates not to get carried away by their business pursuits and, thus neglect their studies.
Citing her own experience, she said she always gave priority to her coursework, research and thesis, and only attended to her online business when she was free.