Melaka offering low rental premises to youth to start business in Melaka Island

The Melaka government via Perbadanan Ketua Menteri Melaka (CMI) is offering youths in the state low rental rates for business premises for them to start a business in Melaka Island.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh said these youth are free to carry out any type of business be it in the food and drink industry, tuition centres or homestays with a rental rate of RM600 per month.

He said the state Youth and Sports Department and Melaka Youth Coalition Council (MGBM) will be the coordinators of the initiative which is an effort to open up opportunities for the youth to start businesses.

“Currently, there are 617 shophouse units which are still vacant in Melaka Island and interested youth are asked to immediately apply under CMI or via their respective youth associations,” he told reporters here yesterday.

“They have to do business for three years to qualify for a rental rate of RM600 per month for a shoplot compared to the actual rental of RM1,000 per month.”

He said this after officiating MGBM’s 40th Annual General Meeting which was also attended by Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim and recently elected MGBM president Datuk Seri Khaidhirah Abu Zahar.

Ab Rauf said the initiative has been implemented not just to produce more entrepreneurs among youth in the state but to develop the Melaka Island area which also includes Arab City Melaka.

In other developments, he said a centre of excellence will be developed to produce a highly skilled workforce through additional funds amounting to RM10 million received from the federal government to strengthen the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme in the state.

He said the workforce to be developed will fill the needs of the state’s industrial and investment sectors, and the initiative will ensure residents, especially the youth, will get job opportunities.

“This centre of excellence will be developed within the Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) to train highly skilled workers in collaboration with the university,” he also said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had previously announced additional funds of RM10 million to Melaka to strengthen the TVET programme in the state in collaboration with TVET institutions and industry players.