Fifteen receive inaugural Entrepreneur Empower ECER Awards

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today presented the inaugural Usahawan (Entrepreneur) Empower ECER awards to 15 people.

These 15 had their lives turned around when the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) chose them to be part of its Empower ECER skills and entrepreneurship training programme.

Forty-year-old Khairul Azizi Ramli, who is a successful entrepreneur currently managing multiple businesses, secured the top award, the Usahawan Gemilang Empower ECER award.

Through hard work and knowledge he acquired from Empower ECER, he started a charcoal distribution business and is now distributing the product to more than 2,000 retail outlets and supermarkets nationwide, supported by 10 full-time staff and 53 agents.

Wheelchair-bound Rozlina Ismail won the Usahawan Empower ECER special award for the disabled category, while former 'Mat Motor (illegal racer)' Muhammad Zulhanif Hazman received the Young Entrepreneur Empower ECER award.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

ECER Development Council chief executive officer Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issace John said the government's programmes were just the tipping point to turn these winners around from humble beginnings to remarkable success.

"We want to honour these individuals who have shown dedication and commitment to push ahead with their dreams," he said.

He added that its human capital development initiatives touch all segments of society and across races.

"More importantly, 93 per cent of our participants are from the B40 income group including single mothers, unemployed youths, the disabled, Orang Asli, the Chinese and Indian community, underscoring our commitment to developing the ECER in an inclusive and sustainable manner," he said.

The ECER, he added, is on track with its socio-economic transformation, achieving robust growth in jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for the rakyat in the region.

To date, he said, 133,000 jobs had been generated and 14,240 entrepreneurs were created across urban and rural areas in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Mersing in Johor.

These 14,000 participants who had become entrepreneurs after completing ECERDC's human capital development programmes had created more than 19,000 jobs.

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