Hajiji (middle) with Shahlemey (left) and Azrul during the session.
KOTA KINABALU (Oct 5): The State Government is ready to consider a proposal to create an entrepreneurial start-up fund for youths, including young women in Sabah.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor said the fund will be considered in the 2022 state budget.
“The fund is not only for business start-ups, but also to help in business recovery for young entrepreneurs who are directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic”, he said during the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) virtual engagement session with the Ahli Parlimen Wanita Muda Sabah at his office in Menara Kinabalu on Tuesday.
This session was held to gather information and views of young women in Sabah on government policies, especially those related to women.
Sixteen members of the Ahli Parlimen Wanita Muda Sabah attended the session and raised their aspirations as well as views to empower the position of women in the state.
“I always welcome and appreciate the views and responses from young people, including the Ahli Parlimen Wanita Muda Sabah. Recommendations from Young Women MPs today will be used as a guide in the implementation of policies and programs, including in the drafting of the 2022 State Budget,” he said.
Hajiji added that the Government through the Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Ministry together with the Sabah Women’s Affairs Department will continue to implement initiatives to raise the agenda of empowering women in the state so that their welfare, safety and opportunities will always be taken care of and improved on from time to time.
Hajiji also directed the Institut Kerjasama Kerajaan dan Rakyat (IKRAR) to conduct more engagement sessions involving government leaders with various segments and community NGOs.
Also present at the session were Community Development and People’s Wellbeing Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya, IKRAR director Azrul Ibrahim, Sabah Women’s Affairs Department director Rusnah Kuyung and her deputy Haslina Ismail, as well as Ahli Parlimen Wanita Muda Sabah representative Farrah Ain Madzlan.