Govt kickstarts Madani Budget 2024 dialogue with stakeholders, says minister

KUALA LUMPUR - The government has started engaging stateholders on

Madani Economy, a strategy aimed at fostering economic growth and sustainability, as Putrajaya gears up for the upcoming 2024 Budget.

Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives of Malaysia Datuk Ewon Benedick said there are two focal points under his purview, involving micro business and informal business.

"To facilitate this, RM100 million will be channeled towards financing micro business,” he said at the press conference after RakyatPreneur and Bank Rakyat Unipreneur 2023 opening ceremony.

Ewon revealed new initiatives Budget 2024 with scheduled dialogue sessions with stakeholders which will be held on Aug 21 for Peninsular Malaysia followed by another session around Sept 7 in East Malaysia.

He expressed confidence over the dialogues as it would bring in good results.

Meanwhile, he said it remains difficult to quantify informal business due to its unstructured nature.

"We don’t have detailed data on the informal business but we are trying our best to get data from district offices and collaborate with other agencies to formulate valid certification to access financing,” he added.

Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim launchhed "Madani Economy: Empowering the People", an initiative to steer the economy and safeguard the country’s future.

Anwar said it would benefit the people ultimately by giving them a better quality of life.

The Madani framework would also serve as the foundation for several forthcoming policies, including the National Energy Transition Roadmap, the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 and the Mid-Term Review of the 12th Malaysia Plan.