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KOTA BELUD: The Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry (Kuskop) will build more Tamu Desa (rural market) premises in Sabah and Sarawak this year under a RM20 million allocation to empower rural traders and boost infrastructure.

Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick (pic) said the allocation includes an additional RM10 million announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Madani Rakyat programme in Tawau last month.

He said the government successfully built or upgraded 98 Tamu Desa premises across the two states last year and hopes to match or exceed that number this year with the new funding.

Ewon noted that 14 of the completed Tamu Desa facilities were in Kota Belud and highlighted their impact on small-scale traders, especially women, by providing comfortable trading spaces that double as venues for community activities.

As of May this year, requests to build or upgrade such premises in Sabah alone total RM40 million, and Ewon said the initiative will continue into the 13th Malaysia Plan as part of the government’s commitment to rural development and inclusive growth.