KUCHING – The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) has urged other states to follow the steps taken by the Sarawak government in setting up the Micro Welfare Entrepreneurs Cooperative (KOUSMIK) and provide premises for the cooperatives involved.
Its deputy minister Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff today said this is because KOUSMIK helps and guides recipients of Social Welfare Department’s (JKM) monthly assistance in Sarawak to become entrepreneurs who earn income using their skills and talents to get out of economic woes.
“Those (JKM’s monthly recipients) who are good at cooking, sewing or weaving can also market their products through the cooperative’s premises provided. So, I hope this will be an example and inspiration to other states,” she said when visiting the Micro Entrepreneur Development Programme, at Wisma KOUSMIK, MetroCity Square here.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Minister of Welfare, Community Well-being, Family, Women and Child Development, Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the state government had allocated to buy three shop lots at RM4.8 million in MetroCity Square to be used as KOUSMIK premises.
“These (KOUSMIK premises) will be be used to showcase products and also aim to market the products of micro-welfare entrepreneurs which consists of JKM,’s monthly assistance recipients,” she said.
She added that micro welfare entrepreneurs began in Sarawak in 2016 with each entrepreneur being given a grant of RM5,000 in the form of equipment through a government allocation.
He said Sarawak also aims to help 750 recipients of the monthly JKM welfare assistance to become small scale entrepreneurs every year and so far, more than 3,000 people have been successfully assisted.
–BERNAMA
