KUALA LUMPUR: Ministries have been tasked with engaging stakeholders, including traders, to better understand the challenges they face after a survey found that participation in formal financial aid programmes among hawkers and small traders remained extremely low, says Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said the matter was raised by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during Wednesday’s (May 13) Cabinet meeting following findings by the Khazanah Research Institute (KRI).
He said the study found that only about 5% of hawkers and traders had received assistance through programmes offered by institutions such as Bank Simpanan Nasional, Tekun Nasional and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia.
“One of the reasons highlighted in the report is the status of businesses that are not formally registered.
“Based on the findings, the Prime Minister has instructed the relevant ministries to conduct engagement sessions, including with the traders themselves, to better understand the issues faced and to ensure formal financial assistance can be extended to them,” he told a post-Cabinet press conference on Wednesday (May 13).
Meanwhile, Fahmi said the Cabinet was also briefed on the launch of the Pusat Mediasi Madani, an initiative under the Prime Minister’s Department’s Legal Affairs Division.
He said the centre would provide pro-bono mediation services involving commercial disputes.
“At present, there are more than 170 qualified mediators for cases involving claims below RM250,000, which will be handled free of charge,” he said.
Fahmi added that the centre would be officially launched in the city on May 18 by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
