Government hopes for more Bumiputera SMEs - Ahmad Maslan

He said despite the current economic challenges, the government continued to be committed to Bumiputera SMEs, which received RM1.12 billion, or 16.8 per cent, from RM6.65 billion allocation for the development of SMEs in the country.

"Of the 645,000 SMEs in the country, only 37 per cent of them are Bumiputera SMEs, and 18 per cent of them are currently exporting," he told reporters after the UNIDO-IEEMMS certificate presentation ceremony here Tuesday.

Ahmad said among the agencies assisting Bumiputera SMEs were SME Bank, Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga, Majlis Amanah Rakyat and the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit, with the collaboration of SME Corp.

UNIDO is the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation while IEEMMS is the Industrial Energy Efficiency for Malaysian Manufacturing Sector.

Minister of International Trade and Industry II, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, presented the certificates to 65 participants from 44 companies.

Ong said industry players should have action plans to continually improve energy performance.

Meanwhile, UNIDO Energy Department's Industrial Development Officer, Sanjaya Man Shrestha, said the UNIDO-IEEMMS project, started in 2012, was the largest tailor-made programme for Malaysia in South-East Asia.

"It is unique as it has all the elements to promote energy efficiency in industrial facilities.

"Through the programme, we showcased how manufacturing industries can manage savings by doing it themselves which are more cost-effective, and they could implement what they learnt at their company's facilities and translate into better profitability in the long run," said Shrestha.

One of the participants was Vathumalai, Founder and Brand Owner of food and beverages company, G&G Dessert Product Sdn Bhd.

He said the programme has exposed him to the importance of energy- efficiency.