KOTA BARU, March 5 — Small entrepreneurs in this country have been urged to register their businesses with the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (Medac) in order to enjoy all benefits provided by the government.

Its minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the ministry estimated that there were around 1.5 million small entrepreneurs in this country, but based on a census conducted in 2019, only 1.2 million have registered their businesses.

“I hope they will register their businesses immediately so that they could receive government assistance strategically, not only from Medac but other government agencies as well, such as financial aid and training,” he said in a news conference after attending Medac’s meet and greet session with Kelantan TUBERS here, today.

On why small entrepreneurs did not register their businesses, Wan Junaidi said they were worried that they would stop receiving the current assistance and have to pay the income tax.

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“Let’s take goreng pisang sellers in B40 group as an example, they are worried that when they register their businesses they will become a company owner and will no longer receive the previous assistance.

“They must know that making RM5,000 a month does not mean they have to pay the income tax because there are several exemptions provided by the government,” he said. — Bernama