PM to officiate Hawkers and Small Traders Day in Penampang
Published on: Monday, November 20, 2023
PENAMPANG: The Hawkers and Small Traders (HPPK) Day celebration at the national-level which is expected to be officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be held, at Buhavan Square, Donggongon, here, Dec 7.
Entrepreneurs and Cooperatives Development Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said the National HPPK celebration was held for the first time in Sabah and the Tamu area on Dec 7-9.
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“During the celebration, we will hold various programmes including exhibitions of government agencies related to entrepreneurship and also agencies under Kuskop.
“Apart from that we will also hold sales from entrepreneurs, hawkers and small traders – not only from Sabah but also Sarawak and the peninsula,” he said.
Ewon, who is also Penampang MP, said Donggongon had been chosen as the venue of the event to show appreciation to the hawkers and small traders.
"Donggongon town has several Tamus, namely, Tamu Sangadau, Tamu Mingguan and Daily Market. Therefore, it is appropriate that the HPPK celebration is held in their business location,” he said.
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He also said the organisation of HPPK at the national-level was previously organised with the theme of “conference” but, this year, it was organised with the theme of “carnival” sales of hawkers and small traders.
“We also held a Showcase 1 Daerah 1 Industri (SDSI) which is one of Kuskop programmes,” he said.
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Regarding the number of hawkers and small traders nationwide, Ewon said, it was estimated that there are one million traders who are categorised as hawkers, who do business in restaurants, outside school buildings and on the roadsides.
“For that reason, the Ministry has developed a formalisation plan for informal entrepreneurs because most of these entrepreneurs do not have a license.
“Through this plan, we are encouraging foreign trade and obtaining a business license to have better access to the financing facilities for entrepreneurial loans provided by the Ministry’s agencies,” he said.
Ewon hoped that by organising the HPPK in the Tamu area, it would increase awareness among the group to move from informal entrepreneurs to formal entrepreneurs.
“With the availability of that data, it will make it easier for us to know the actual number of entrepreneurs, traders and small-scale hawkers across the country, thereby enabling the Ministry to develop better policies, programmes and budgets for the benefit of that group,” he said.
He also thanked the Prime Minister for the allocation of RM20 million in Budget 2024 to implement the Tamu Desa Project.
“I have submitted an application to the ministry to prepare a budget to build infrastructure facilities, entrepreneurship stalls for hawkers and small traders in rural areas.
“Thanks to the Prime Minister for allocating these funds for us to implement the Village Tamu Project in the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak.
“This is a new programme under my Ministry after I was given the mandate to lead this Ministry,” he said, adding that he will visit Tamu areas throughout Sabah that need infrastructure such as stalls, which will be implemented next year.
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