A CENTRE to produce local snacks is being considered for each of the 10 districts in Johor to boost small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for women.
State youth, sports, entrepreneur development, cooperatives and human resources committee chairman Mohd Hairi Mad Shah said these centres would be in line with the state government’s efforts to provide women entrepreneurs opportunities to make extra income.
“The initiative will be implemented through the Johor Entrepreneurs Development Council as our way of focusing on continuous skills and training programmes.
“If possible, I would like the snack centres to be realised by next year.
“But if it involves construction, it may take more time,” he told the Johor state assembly.
He was replying to Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain (BN-Mahktota) who asked about the state’s efforts in making Johor a snack hub and its assistance for women entrepreneurs.
Mohd Hairi said the state, through the Darul Ta’zim Family Development Foundation, was running programmes such as the Women’s Income-Generating Skills Project, providing equipment for small businesses and organising entrepreneur training courses.
A total of 11,583 entrepreneurs, he disclosed, had enrolled in the Johor Entrepreneur Data Centre (Padu) system where 5,099 or 44.02% were women entrepreneurs.
“From the total sign-ups, 6,799 are in the food manufacturing and processing sector.
“Padu was established to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Johor and to become a platform for reference on the latest business opportunities and assistance provided by the government,” he added.
Meanwhile, state education, information and communications committee chairman Norlizah Noh said 25 new telecommunication towers would be built statewide by December next year to improve Internet coverage.
The existing 645 transmitting stations in four constituencies would also undergo upgrades under the National Digital Effort (Jendela), she highlighted.
Norlizah said that under Jendela, 10 new towers would be added in Tiram and 254 stations would be upgraded to 4G and LTE network.
She also said a new broadband satellite was expected to be completed by then, providing fibre optic connectivity to 26,222 premises.
She was replying to a question from Azizul Bachok (BN-Tiram), Pandak Ahmad (BN-Kota Iskandar), Datuk Mohd Fuad Tukirin (BN-Bukit Naning) and Datuk Mohamad Najib Samuri (BN-Parit Yaani) on the state’s efforts to improve telecommunications and Internet coverage.
Norlizah said two new telecommunication towers and the upgrade of 52 transmitting stations in Bukit Naning were in the pipeline.
In Kota Iskandar, 11 towers would be built and 285 stations would be upgraded to benefit 15,648 premises, she revealed.
In Parit Yaani, 7,292 premises would enjoy fibre optic connectivity with two new towers and upgrade of 54 stations, she added.
