Sabariah showing her rempeyek after receiving a grant from the state government in Komtar, Penang. — Filepic
MOTHER of six Sabariah Yahaya had to turn to making rempeyek (deep-fried savoury cracker) to support her family when she became a single parent 12 years ago.
She picked up new business skills by attending multiple workshops and programmes under the Penang Women’s Development Corporation’s (PWDC) Wanita Jana Rezeki (WJR) 1.0 programme in 2020 and has since enjoyed growth in her business.
“Before this, I only made and sold rempeyek on a small scale but now, with the exposure and knowledge I gained from PWDC, I have a mini workshop where I have employed three others, including a single mother, to produce rempeyek on a bigger scale,” said Sabariah, 47, who has since remarried.
Penang Women Entrepreneur Mentoring Programme (PWEMP) and WJR are organised annually under PWDC.
These programmes kick-started in 2020 with the objective of empowering women economically and narrowing the gender gap.
The state government provides grants of RM1,000 to each woman in the WJR programme every year.
PWDC chairman Chong Eng said whether as a homemaker or career woman, she should be able to contribute to the economy of the country and her efforts should not go unnoticed.
PWEMP offers mentorship and networking opportunities to new entrepreneurs.
About 230 women have completed the four-month-long mentor-mentee programme since it began.
A force of four enterprising mothers calling themselves “Mommy Gojes” were mentees of the PWEMP 3.0 last year.
They collaborated and established “Mommy Gojes” selling various products such as biscuits and kerepek (chips).
“When we first joined PWEMP, we were individual entrepreneurs but today, we are a force of four and have combined our businesses with a revenue of RM11,000 to RM16,000 a month,” said one of the four ladies, Noorharyantie Ismail.
Chong added that partnership with the private and public sectors as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had built enthusiasm for these programmes.
“It is through such partnerships that we are able to offer mentorship and networking opportunities for women in the community to increase their participation in the economy and contribute to the state,” she said.
Chong said support and collaborations with corporations and NGOs were necessary to create a better ecosystem for women.
“Many mothers today are forced to leave the workforce mainly due to the lack of affordable and accessible childcare.
“Thus, companies are encouraged to provide childcare services to retain their female employees,” she said in an interview.
In 2014, the first Taska D’Komtar was launched and today, Taska D’Komtar 2.0 has been set up to further provide childcare services for workers in the state government.
PWDC had been the enabler for childcare services at the workplace and is now a model for other private organisations such as Micron.
“The state strongly urges the private sector to set up childcare services at the workplace in order to retain women employees.
“It is important for women to be in the workforce as they too can contribute to the economic growth of the state and nation,” Chong said.
Based on a report by The World Bank in 2019, the GDP of Malaysia is able to increase by 26.2% if all economic barriers were removed for women which also translates to an increase of RM9,400 of average annual income.
“Imagine a woman contributing such an amount of money to her family.
“It will not only improve the livelihood of each family member but it can also be used to fund children’s education, health for the elderly and other family activities,” said Chong.
