KUCHING: The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry will study if any changes need to be made to the Registration of Businesses Act 1956 so that it can be adopted in Sarawak and Sabah.
In stating this, minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi stated that although the said Act is not applicable in Sarawak and Sabah (as both of the states have their own business registration ordinance), future entrepreneurs here should also benefit from it.
“It would be unfair to those here (East Malaysia) to be unable to get any benefit as the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) has always strived to improve the Act,” he said.
He said this during a press conference after officiating the Youth Entrepreneurs Programme (PUM) at Politeknik Kuching on Saturday (Sept 10).
He said that one of the advantages of the Act is getting aid from the government.
“When the government allocates aid for entrepreneurs, it is often that it uses databases from SSM. That is why those who are registered under SSM will automatically get the aid while others do not fully get it.
“I hope that in the future there will be no obstacles for this Act to be enforced in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Nevertheless, I applaud the efforts done by SSM thus far. Their continuous improvement has enabled us to be on par with the business entities in developed countries,” he said.
On a related matter, Nanta said that SSM encouraged all students to benefit from the Skim Pendaftaran Perniagaan Prihatin (SPPP) which provides opportunities for B40 group entrepreneurs as well as full-time students at Higher Education Institutes to register their business under the Act without being charged any fees.
From Jan 2021 to July 31 this year, a total of 38,344 businesses have been registered for free through SPPP with 17,455 of them being full time students while the remaining are B40 entrepreneurs.
However, due to the Act being not applicable in the state, as an alternative, business students can register with the local authorities in Sarawak or register their business entities under the Companies Act 2016 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2012 which are also regulated by SSM.
“The awareness on the importance of registering their business will help them enjoy benefits such as financial assistance and enable them to participate in entrepreneurship programmes.
“I would like to urge all the participants here to take this opportunity to register their business under SSM.
“Moreover, aside from the business being legal, having a legitimate business entity will also be able to give confidence to the customers on the products or services offered,” he said.
