Business Development awareness programme hosted by SME Corp and SITF



Potential borrower receiving info from SME Corp staff



SITF hosted a special introduction to the business development programmes provided by SME Corp on Friday, March 25 from 2pm to 5pm at Dewan Soma at Wisma Tun Sambanthan. Over 70 Indian business people participated in this program which was jointly organized by SITF and Indian business associations.

The programme was officiated by Datuk Dr Subramaniam, the SITF Chairman and Human Resources Minister. In his speech he highlighted that the Taskforce recognizes that inability to access business loans is a major complaint from Indian businesses. This programme is one of the many initiatives by SITF in creating greater access and inclusion in programmes organized by Federal government initiatives to assist the small business people.



Mr Muthusamy saying a word of welcome at the Awareness programme

 Mr. Muthusamy of the Malaysian Indian Restaurant owners Association acknowledged the effective link role the Taskforce is playing between the agencies and the community. Mr Meor Shahril, an officier of SME Corp provided a comprehensive overview of the two business development programmes available, namely Business Accelerator Programme (BAP) and Enrichment & Enhancement Programme (E2).

In the discussion that followed there were many questions raised on who is eligibility to apply and the conditions for access to loans. A number of points were highlighted. One pertains to the six months business experience requirement which many felt does not encourage the first time borrowers. Another pertains to undertaking a business on a location which has local authority approval and permit. Many indicated that they operated from the home. Current SME corp policy excludes these from applying.



Mr Meor Shahril, SME Corp officer

 There were also many positive comments received, relating to the wholistic nature of SME corps assistance. The four key features were better understood. These include diagnostic rating, capacity building, advisory & technical assistance and finally access to financing.

Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria who is the SITF secretary, acknowledged that more needs to be done in not only creating awareness but also to play a role in providing advice and guidance thereby ensuring the potential borrower is able to access credit. “We really need to ensure that small and micro business participate in these economic development programmes. One clear way these programmes can assist is through the capacity development programs”. SITF together with the Indian business associations will monitor participation.

Earlier in his speech Datuk Dr Subramaniam announced that the Taskforce is exploring the possibility of establishing a special unit which will focus of enabling and empowering the micro and small Indian business. This new development will clearly enhance Indian business participation.

Review to strengthen delivery to the Indian business community

At the discussion with various financial institutions

Last Friday (March 11, 2011) the SITF secretariat organized two meetings to follow up some of the major questions raised by the Indian community through various business awareness programs organized by the Taskforce

A number of key concerns are:-

·         Questions pertaining to interest charged for micro loans especially loans below RM50,000

·         Questions pertaining to being black listed by financial rating institutions

·         Questions pertaining to options available in terms of business loans

·         Questions pertaining to financial literacy, awareness and training

Meeting One – Reviewing past experiences & charting forward

The first meeting took place at 11.30am at Bank Negara with representatives from Bank Negara from Financial surveillance Department, AKPK & Corporate communication Department. Others present were from BSN and Agro Bank.

In the discussions that followed we noted that the interest rates for micro loans are high. This is not only due to cost of operating the loans but also due to the high risk attached to this. Both BSN and Agro Bank indicate that they are lending using their funds rather than soft loans via Government provisions which Tekun is benefiting from.

Also noted that financial literacy is the main problem namely the informal business community is not really getting their books organized and not using basic financial planning and management approaches. This can be address through capacity building programs.

The role of the credit rating agencies is to provide basic information on the financial history and behavior of the potential borrower. On the past settled loans and if records don’t capture it, it is important for the borrower to correct this. If need be a complaint could be lodged with bank Negara on problems encountered.

SITF will consider organizing a whole package of financial development programs using all the current Federal government coordinated programs as a package such as capacity building though AKPK, business training and advisory services such as Bank Negara’s LINK etc. Then channel them to a whole range of micro credit programs such as AIM, Tekun, BSN, Agro bank etc.  SITF is considering launching a campaign to 30 different small towns in the middle of the year through a national campaign on access to wealth creation & micro business.

It is then up to the community to reorganize themselves and match up to the requirements over the next 12 months to become more formalized and bankable. Through financial literacy we need to modernize ourselves and become acceptable to financial institutions.



SITF team together with Indian business rep at SME Corp



Meeting Two- Exploring new options

The second meeting was at SME Corp at MATRADE in the afternoon at 3pm on the same day. For this meeting SITF had invited a number of Indian business associations and three turned up namely MIBA, Indian restaurants and the barbers association. Also present was the business unit from the MIC youth section. The SME Corp officers explained their business products and this scheme looked very attractive as they have recently introduced:-

·         Enrichment & Enhancement Programme (E2)

·         Business Accelerator Programme (BAP)

These two products focused on four major areas of financial services

·         Diagnostics

·         Capacity Building

·         Advisory & Technical support

·         Facilitating access to Financing

On this matter SITF has an earlier article on these features. One point became very clear in the course of the discussion that very few Indians were coming to SME Corp for assistance and this is an area of concern. Therefore it is important to ensure a majority of Indians come to know of SME corp and their economic development programmes.

SITF has decided to host two follow up meeting to ensure that a larger number of Indian participate.

First, on Friday March 18, 2011 at 6pm, SITF is hosting a meeting with all the major Indian business associations at the Jln Gasing Lotus restaurant. The objective is to brief and ensure that each of the associations will play their role. This is a planning meeting to organize the March 25^th meeting.

Second, on Friday March 25, 2011 from 2pm to 3pm – SITF will host a special public meeting to introduce SME corp. Our target is to reach 300 people at this meeting and after the talks, Q & A, there be booths/clinic time for one to one discussion with SME corp officials.

Business Forum on Working Capital Guarantee Scheme Dialogue

The Panel of speakers at the Business Forum

The Business forum hosted by SITF on March 4, 2011 at the Auditorium Soma, Wisma Tun Sambanthan, KL was very well attended. Three hundred and forty seven (347) people had registered. There was lots of interest on the WCGS and available business loans.

The panel was well represented with speakers from PROKHAS (MoF), Dato Kamal Ali and En Hamid Mohd Noor.  From the banks we had En Zainudin Hj Zakaria from May Bank, En Zakimi Zaman Khan from AmBank and Puan Eliza Dato Abdul Aziz from CIMB

The Q & A was moderated by Dato Jaspal Singh and the SITF Chairman, Datuk Dr Subrmaniam shared some closing words encouraging the participants to access the WCGS and assured that SITF together with the Business Associations will monitor the outcomes.

However during the question and answer time a dominant theme which emerged was the inability of the Indian business community to access these loans. The comments reflected the notion that the requirements were hard to fulfill and even in cases where they could meet it they were rejected because they were Indians



Participants at the forum


 

The banks assured that they were seeking good and potential borrowers and if the requirements were met no one is discriminated based on ethnicity. However financial track record, repayment history, business viability including ability to repay still remain the most critical prerequisites

Dato Jaspal Singh and Datuk Dr Denison assured that the Taskforce together with business associations will set up a special monitoring team to ensure that Indians are able to benefit from the RM1.5 billion WCGS scheme allocation for non Bumiputeras by the Federal government. The Indian Chamber President who was also present also agreed that MAICCI will play a supporting role in this process together with SITF

The target is to assist between 300 and 500 Indian business to apply for the WCGS operated by PROKHAS. There was some optimism in the air as we concluded and many made the effort to meet bank representatives in their booths and secure the necessary relevant information and forms.

Participants at the business forum

Only time will reveal the results. The start has been made and we must move on with confidence in the specific allocations of the federal government to enhance business innovation and wealth creation.

SITF partnering with Selangor PDRM



Denison, Datuk Thaiveegan & Siva together Police & SITF Officers

 SITF secretariat team paid a visit to Selangor Police headquarters to meet Datuk A Thaiveegan, the Deputy CPO on wednesday March 2, 2011. From SITF the team was lead by its secretary Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria together with Dato Siva Subramaniam and two staff Ms Premla Ravin and Ms Selvamalar accompanied them.

Datuk Thaiveegan briefed the SITF team that Selangor Police was keen to organize a program to engage 1,000 Indians from Selangor. Tan Sri IGP has already agreed to speak at the program on community policing and crime prevention.

The Taskforce has agreed to play a partnering role. The SITF chair, Datuk Dr Subramaniam has also agreed to come towards the end of the one day program to share his thoughts with the young leaders.

Crime prevention and emphasis of being partners alongside the Police is a very important dimension and therefore this engagement especially among Indian youths (between 17 to 40 years) and the Police is very critical. The Police had already hosted an earlier meeting among NGOs. Taskforce manager Mrs Premla Ravin participated in that program.

It was a very fruitful exchange and SITF recognized that there is a very important role to engage the Indian community on matters pertaining to crime and the Police force. Very often there is wrong perception but an healthy engagement will enhance the relation and partnership with the Police.

The one day special interactive program will be held on Sat April 2, 2011 at the Police HQ in Selangor, entitled a Day with the Police

The program will include special talks and interactive sessions on seeing the Police as community role models. Many young people like to join the Police force and therefore this will a useful experience. The sessions will be led by senior Police officers. There will be an opportunity to visit and view different aspects of Police work including seeing an exhibition of arms, Police equipments and the dog unit. There will be an exhibition on drugs and a possibility of visiting the lock ups

Datuk Thaiveegan chairing the meeting at the Selangor Police HQ

We are hoping that this will be a start of many crime prevention programs in Selangor. In due time more sessions will be organized at the district level especially at high risk neighborhood level. There has to be concerted effort on reducing Indian involvement in serious crime as well as change in perceptions. This proposed program in April is a start of many more to come in that direction.

Initial Findings of My Daftar campaign

Siva & Denison together with Datuk Dr Subra at the Press Conference on My Daftar campaign

SITF Chairman Datuk Dr Subramaniam announced yesterday (March 1, 2011) that a total of 14, 882 Malaysian Indians have submitted the relevant citizenship forms during the My Daftar campaign held from Feb 19 to 26, 2011.

Total               14, 8882

            Break Down of figures

• Birth certificate: 3,546
• Identification cards        2,569
• Citizenship                    7,486
• Others                          1,281

              

It is also estimated that another 10,000 had come and taken forms however within the campaign period they had not returned the forms.

In this context and in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the national Registration Department, SITF has extended the submission period for another week. The submissions made between Feb 28 and March 4 will also be included into the ‘My daftar’ campaign figures.

The general public could:-

• From Mon Feb 28 to Friday March 4, 2011 during office hours go to any NRD office and submit the forms.

• For Sat March 5 and Sunday March 6, 2011 from 9am to 1pm can go to the State HQ office of NRD and make submissions.

STATE	NRD HQ	LOCAL CONTACT
Kedah	Alor Star	019 5591765
Penang	Jln Anson (Island)	016 4580750
Perak	Ipoh	017 5518891
Selangor	Shah Alam	012 3187044
WP KL	Maju Junction	012 2034830
Negeri	Seremban	017 6319994
Melaka	Air Keroh	016 6163711
Pahang	Kuantan	019 9609142
Johore	JB city	016 7833845

• For the next six months ‘SITF My Daftar special unit’ headed by Dato Siva Subramaniam will focus on case solutions ensuring that the 14,882 are approved, encourage the 10,000 who took the forms to fill them, make their submissions and monitor their solutions

SITF AFTER SIX MONTHS - Focus Areas & Staff team

SITF secretariat team together with SITF Chairman, Datuk Dr Subramaniam

Our Prime Minister established the Special Implementation Taskforce on the Indian community (SITF) in June 2010. The SITF secretariat became operational in August 2010. Over the past six months, SITF has become a household name in the Indian community because of the two major grassroots initiatives namely Program Mesra Rakyat and the My daftar campaign

In both these national wide programs, the SITF Chairman, Datuk Dr Subramanian and team sought to bring the federal government agencies to the hand reach of the Indian community.

Through the main policy and implementation discussions with Federal agency heads at Putrajaya and with the delivery officers at the district level, the SITF team sought to bridge the gap between the Federal government on the one hand and the people especially the bottom 40% on the other.

SITF role has been made possible due to the support received from political volunteers from the MIC and other BN component parties, community leaders from religious, business, community and social voluntary organizations. As SITF is an institution under the Prime Minister’s department it has been possible to play a bridge building role.

We are still a very new institution facing many challenges, however the impact has been great and we have fostered confidence especially among ordinary people that Federal government cares for them and is accessible to them. Over the coming months through an improved solutions track record SITF will seek to win ‘hearts and minds’.

We all agree that more needs to be done and we are confident that together we can seek the transformation that is intended with a vision to see especially the poor and low income from among the Malaysian Indian community improve their quality of life and experience higher income levels resulting in better outcomes on par with the rest of Malaysian society.

SITF AREAS OF FOCUS

SITF’s focus has been in three main areas. We have worked to strengthen these and in the next six months we will consolidate policy advocacy and formulation, community intervention & delivery and thirdly, stakeholder partnerships and engagement.

Coordinating Policy advocacy, review & input on six major areas of concern in partnership and cooperation with relevant federal government agencies. In these we seek to secure basic data on Indian community participation and identify the current hurdles and draw up strategies to enhance Indian participation.

The six areas of policy concern are:-

1) Poverty & low income,

2) Employment opportunities in the public sector,

3) Economic development (access to loans and training),

4) Ensuring quality foundational education (pre school, primary & secondary education),

5) Enhancing post secondary educational and training opportunities and

6) Concerns pertaining to crime and dysfunctional families

Organising and facilitating direct community based initiatives which have a direct impact on the needs and concerns of ordinary people at the grassroots. Three such initiatives are:-

1)      Program Mesra Rakyat – at the district level to ensure there is effective delivery by all the relevant federal government agencies especially social welfare, sosco, micro loans, skills training, documentation etc. An ongoing program and we will organize more in 2011

2)      My Daftar National Campaign – held from Feb 19 to 26, 2011 to identify and document all Malaysian Indians without relevant citizenship documents. We have identified about 15,000 people and another 10,000 people who have taken the forms but have not submitted them. This is ongoing to ensure solutions over the next 6 to 9 months.

3)      Community Initiatives – at a pilot phases SITF is promoting programs for the bottom 40% such as

·        Micro loans for informal sector through Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, financial advice and management through AKPK (Bank Negara), and micro loans and training through SME Corp.

·        Ensure increased youth participation through Indian based youth organizations in all program by the federal government such as Ministry of Youth & Sports.

·        Neighbourhood based community programs at high rise low cost urban flats in the Klang valley. In the first phase to initiate community based programs at Lembah Subang, Desa Menteri and Petaling Utama.

·        Networking with Malaysian Royal Police in crime prevention programs and addressing community issues pertaining to crime, detentions and reducing Indian involvement

Networking and stakeholder consultation – SITF has sought the partnership of political parties, religious institutions, voluntary societies, business association and professional organizations and individuals.

Both at policy discussions and review and at the level of community action, SITF has sought the support of individuals and organizations. We have fostered a close working relation with all including the media and academic institutions. This networking will be strengthened through increased engagement and dialogue. In addition the SITF website in English and Tamil will enhance connectivity to a wider audience.

SITF SECRETARIAT

 There are currently five people working in the SITF staff team under the PM department (via Pemandu). The team first started with the employment of a full time secretary in August 1, 2010 and subsequently the recruitment of a program consultant in September and two staff in October 2011. The third staff was recruited in March 1, 2011.

The five SITF secretariat members are:-

Secretary          :          Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria

Consultant        :           Dato Siva Subramanian

Managers         :           Mr Thanasagaran Maniam

                        :           Mrs Premla Balakrishan Ravin

                        :           Ms Selvamalar Selvaraju

From the Minister’s office Mr SP Manivasagum (Minister’s Special office on Cabinet Committee on Indian community) works closely with the SITF team.

Working Visit by YM Dato Raja Azahar, Deputy Secretary General Ministry of Home Affairs to PJ JPN Office



Dato Raja Azahar togther with community leaders at JPN-PJ



The Deputy Secretary General arrived at 11am to the Federal government building in New Town PJ on Feb 24, 2011 (Thursday). It is now five days into the ‘My daftar campaign’. PJ office has been very busy as the Petaling district covers a wider area and many Indians are residing here especially in low cost- high rise flats.



Mr Padma of Lembah Subang presenting a souvenir to Dato Raja

 Before Dato Raja Azahar entered the JPN building he was greeted by Lembah Subang community leader and residents who had come in two buses to make their submissions. The Selangor MIC has organized the bus as well as a commissioner of oath to certify many of the documents prior to their submission at JPN today.

During the course of his working visit and press conference Dato Raja Azahar said that he made this special effort to give moral support to JPN officers who have been hard at work and also have ground knowledge of the developments and issues. He acknowledged that JPN officers are playing an very important role in assisting the people.

In addition he acknowledged that a good feature of this campaign was the role played by political parties, voluntary and religious organisations. This he saw personally when he spoke to the people from Lembah Subang who had come to make their submissions

Dato Raja Azahar recognized that one of the major problems in the community is the lack of awareness among the poorer sections of the Indian community in ensuring that they secure the necessary documents. Citizenship documents are of utmost importance to ensure that ordinary people can exercise the citizenship rights and responsibilities.

He admitted that while the My daftar has brought to public light the documentation issues, however there is lots more work to be done to ensure that in the processing period the applicants fulfill all the basic requirements and secures supporting documents. He noted that in some cases this might be difficult and therefore on a case by case basic Putrajaya could review the applications.

Dato reviewing some files with JPN Selangor Director Tuan Hj Mustapaha

He also recognized that in the post campaign period and in order to strengthen the solving the cases, contract officers may need to be appointed. He added that the Taskforce could request the Federal government for addition funds to try and resolve all cases within this year. Some of the retired JPN officers could be recruited to assist in this process.

Also present were PM’s special Indian officer Datuk Ravin Ponniah, MIC Selangor Deputy Chairman Dato Gopalkrishan, MIC Selangor co ordinator Mr Siva Subramaniam and Taskforce secretary, Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria

Economic Development Programmes through SMEcorp

Munes, Jun, Premla, Denison, Meor & Mahdi at SMECorp (Feb 22, 2011)

SME Corp has come up with two very good products to support the business community.

• One targets the micro business people called E2 –Enrichment & Enhancement Programme which are micro enterprises (MEs) registered with the Registration of Business Act, with less than RM 250,00 annual sales turn over and with less than 5 workers

• The second targets SMEs which are bigger companies registered under the Companies Act (Sdn Bhd) with less that RM25 million annual sales and less than 150 workers in a programme called Business Accelerator Programme (BAP)

Visit to SMECorp

Yesterday Taskforce secretary Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria together Taskforce officer Puan Premla Ravin visted SME Corp and met up with Mr Mahdi Mohd Ariffin, Deputy CEO and Mrs Muneswari Munusamy, Manager and Mr Meor Shahril, Asst Manager. Also present was Ms Junaidah Yusof, DFED, Bank Negara.

According to Dr Denison, he said it was a fruitful discussion and we learnt a lot concerning the SMECorp’s two new products. Once again we found out Indian community’s awareness on these are limited and there is very little coordinated effort to expose the community to many of these initiatives.

This visit has enabled the Taskforce to secure the basic information and details for further dissemination and also to ensure increased Indian participation. Taskforce will organize a meeting for leaders from Indian business associations and with their cooperation facilitate awareness programmes on the ground.

The Taskforce will give special emphasis to assist the informal and micro business players on the ground as a majority of the MEs are people at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder especially at the bottom 40%

Some interesting features of these programmes. There are 4 different aspects:-

• Feature 1 - DIAGNOSTICS

When a person applies on to their online registration and provides basic information a visit is made by an SMR Corp officer. An assessment is made to note strengthens and shortcomings. The evaluator will also draw up a plan of action for the business person to address the short falls in order to strengthen their competitiveness.

• Feature 2 – CAPACITY BUILDING

Based on the diagnostic tool used capacity building programmes will be recommended. SMEcorp has 40 approved training centres and the business person can enroll in any one of them. These can be skills based or awareness on branding.

• Feature 3 – ADVISORY & TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Two types of services provided. A One Referral Centre (ORC) provides advisory services for start ups and also established businesses. There is also an SME Expert Advisory Panel (SEAP) on various fields. This counseling, advisory and technical support is very useful and helpful in molding and grooming Indian business. These have to be utilized.

• Feature 4 – FACILITATING ACCESS TO FINANCING

SMEcorp provides both grants and soft loans. This aspect will be attractive. However the loans or grants are not automatic but based on Feature 1 –results of the diagnostic test.

For MEs soft loans and grants are available for below RM50, 000. Loans are at a 5% interest. For SME it is above RM50, 000 but below RM 500,000 at 4% interest rate. When a loan is approved then 40% of this could become a grant provided by the Federal government. The loans for MEs are administered by Bank Rakyat and the loans for SMEs by MIDF (Malaysian Industrial Development Finance)

Taskforce Role

The Taskforce will ensure that the information is disseminated and will call up the Indian business community at the micro –formal and informal together with the SME’s to plug into the system and take advantage of the programmes made available by the Federal government.

Local community response to My Daftar campaign

Tuan Haji Raham, Mr Padma and Ebenezer reviewing applications at Lembah Subang

The Lembah Subang local community leaders headed by Mr Padmanagan have been very busy in assisting residents in filling the JPN forms during this campaign period. This is a very good example of local leaders taking action in addressing local needs.

Mr Padma is a local MIC leader. He has been living in this neighbourhood for the past 10 years running a market stall with his wife. He seems to know every one especially the Indian community. It was he and his local committee that hosted a program on Feb 15, 2011 which was officiated by Datuk Dr Subramaniam, The Taskforce Chairman and Human Resources Ministry.

Mr Padma assisting Tuan Hj Rahaman at Lembah Subang

Mr Padma had earlier attended a training session on JPN form filling at the JPN office at PJ. He had gone and met the officer in charge and gathered all the forms needed. He sought the assistance of volunteers to fill the forms too.

Yesterday Feb 22, 2011 (Tuesday) he organized a gathering at the community hall and invited Tuan Hj Abdul Rahaman to come and review all the applications with the persons concerned. This is a very useful process as it saves time and ensures that when the people come and submit on Feb 24, 2011 (Thursday) they will be complete or at least near completion. Any major complication or difficulty is then cleared early and assistance sought especially for some leader to take an oath that he knows this individual concerned.

Tuan Hj Abdul Rahman the JPN officer in PJ has gone out of the way by coming after office hours to local community halls to meet people and explain to them the requirements and advice on how to fill the forms. He did this some time back with the community at Desa Mentari block 9 and 10.

Tuan Haj Rahaman's friendly approach wins 'hearts & minds' at Lembah Subang

Tuan Haji, tries to use the little Tamil he knows. He grew up in Bangsar and lived among Indians as his father worked in the railways. He has taken an extra mile. This exemplary service is bridging the gap between the people on the bottom and Putrajaya. Through his personal service he has enabled ordinary people feel at home and recognize that JPN and the Federal government cares for them.

Mass movement of Indians – not for protest but problem solving

On the first day at Maju Junction, KL (Feb 19)

- 1^st day of My Daftar Campaign-

It is estimated that over 3, 418 people turned up on the first day of the “My daftar campaign”. JPN officers were available in 80 of their office centres this weekend. People were coming out in unbelievable numbers.

It can be said that this is a mass movement of Indians not to protest but resolve their grievances. We are also seeing large number of volunteers from a variety of organizations also responding to address this human need and right for documents and citizenship.

Maju Junction

People gathering outside JPN Maju Junction (Feb 19, 2011)

 At Maju Junction in Kuala Lumpur over a thousand people came on the first day of the campaign with a hope in their hearts that this time the Federal government which has undertaken this Nation wide campaign to identify and resolve the concerns of undocumented Malaysians.

A large number of people gathered inside Maju Junction (Feb 19, 2011)

As at 2.30pm on Feb 19, 2011, total of 606 cases were received at JPN, WP KL:-

• BC application  :           136
• IC applications :             82
• Citizenship        :           388

At the Press Conference, Maju Junction (Feb 19, 2011)

Datuk Dr Subramaniam, Datuk Saravanan & Dato Devamani all visited JPN office at Maju Junction. They walked around the sixth floor of the Maju Junction JPN KL office and met the people, officers and volunteers.

During the press conference, the Minister highlighted that one major area is regarding citizenship. He narrated that during his ‘walk about’ there were many elderly in their 50s and 60s who are Red IC card holders seeking for a Blue IC cards. He also told that the Taskforce will review this matter of Red card holders and make specific recommendations to the Federal government.

The Minister also indicated to a media question that when Feb 26 comes which is the last day of the campaign it is in fact the beginning of Taskforce duties as we will seek to resolve them. Many of the cases are complicated as the people are unable to secure the supporting documents. He also said that the Taskforce is setting a 6 months timeframe to ensure the follow up strategies are effectively resolved.

At Maju Junction it was the coming together of an unbelievable number of people. They have come with hope and confidence. Therefore the Taskforce is really under pressure in ensuring a majority of registered cases will secure a favorable answer.

My Daftar campaign Begins Today Feb 19 (Sat) till Feb 26 (sat).




Local community leaders at Lembah Subang, PJ handing over a list of 90 local residents
without relvant documents to Taskforce Chair Datuk Dr Subramaniam on Feb 15, 2011  .

  The Campaign organized by the Taskforce (PM Dept) with the cooperation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Registration and Department of Information is a major National campaign organized by the Federal Government

It starts today on Feb 19 till 26, 2011. The Department of National Registration has provided utmost cooperation by opening up 80 offices in 9 states in Malaysia. This is the largest and comprehensive campaign organized so far.

This is a major effort to identify all the undocumented Malaysian Indians so that through this campaign they

• Can be identified especially those with out birth certificates or identification cards
• Can be assisted to fill the relevant forms
• Can be assisted to secure supporting information and details on origin and birth
• Can be successful as people who can eventually secure all the legal documents and thereby enjoy their rights as Malaysian citizens

Datuk Dr Subramaniam, the Taskforce chair & Minister together with Datuk Saravanan the Deputy Minister will undertake a working visit to the JPN office at Maju Junction today Feb 19, 2011 at 12noon.

Similar programs and launches are being organized at all the major states where the campaign is being undertaken.

Thus far the Taskforce has received tremendous support from political parties, community groups, private sector leaders and NGOs. This is a mass mobilization of the community and there is a concerted effort from many different quarters.

Micro Credit Awareness Program at Seremban



Participants at the Seremban Micro Finance Program

 The Taskforce organized a third micro credit awareness program with speakers from AKPK, BSN and Agro bank. The earlier ones were in Perai and Kapar. Over 85 people came to the Seremban program on Saturday, Feb 12, 2011 which was held at the MIC State office with a majority being men namely 58 and the remaining 27 were women.

Micro Business experience

It is interesting to note that many are already undertaking micro or small business. Some were undertaking transportation enterprise, or running a bridal set up and others selling eatables such as ‘nasi lemak’ or sales pertaining to flowers or prayer items or in direct selling in health care products.

Among the two people who interacted with Datuk Dr Denison were Mr S Harikrishan and Mr K Ramani. Both are very successful businessmen. In the case of Hari he runs a cleaning service and Mr Ramani manages small plantations on lease. Both seem to be in a good business area and so far they have grown from very small using personal funds and resources. Both admit that access to loans is an issue and their financial management styles and approaches are a problem for formal banking. However they both recognize that in order for them to grow they need to

• Reorganise their business
• Develop more professional approaches
• Standardize financial and banking practices
• Develop credit discipline

Issue of high interest

A major issue raised at the Sermeban gathering  was regarding to why is the interest rates for BSN and Agro bank was so high namely between 14 to 17%? A number raised this concern and there was some reluctance to applying for this loan.

The bank officials indicated that the cost of micro loans are high and therefore to cover their cost they have to charge this interest rate. In addition there is the high risk factor too. The people however feel that it is the duty of the Federal government to assist micro and small players in the market with just interest say 4 to 7 % rather than 14 to 17%.

Both Hari and Ramai were looking forward to special schemes by the Federal government which is in the interest of building micro and small Indian businesses.

Talk on Financial Management

The participants were very delighted with the AKPK speaker Mr Segaran and his presentation on financial management. One participant indicated that one hour is insufficient and that more sessions must be held on how to manage our finance. Mr Steven of Sermeban MIC and who was one of the local organisers has asked the Taskforce to organize another two to three hours program on financial management and he has assured to being over 30 young people.

For the Taskforce team this is a learning curve in order to pilot test especially in areas such as micro enterprise awareness, access to available micro credit loans and acquiring good financial management information and procedures. There is a need for a national scheme to update and upgrade micro Indian business operators so that their potential can be tap for wealth creation and improvement of the quality of life index among the bottom 40% in the Indian community.