PETALING JAYA: A total of 137,520 National Entrepreneur Group Economic Fund (Tekun) borrowers are more than six months in arrears, with the total debt amounting to more than RM1.1 billion, says deputy entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister Ramanan Ramakrishnan.
Ramanan called on the Tekun borrowers in question to settle their arrears so that the benefits can be passed on to other Malaysians in need, Bernama reported.
“I hope the borrowers can settle the outstanding balance (arrears) according to the schedule,” he was quoted as saying.
According to Ramanan, the state with the highest number of defaulters is Selangor (22,662 borrowers), followed by Sabah (16,945) and Kedah (14,823).
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From its establishment in 1998 to January 2024, Tekun has provided RM9.15 billion in business financing to more than 570,000 entrepreneurs nationwide.
Meanwhile, Ramanan also announced financing amounting to RM65 million to be disbursed to 4,000 informal and micro-entrepreneurs in Selangor by Tekun.
Up to last month, he said, RM7.35 million had been provided to 225 Tekun entrepreneurs in Selangor.
Ramanan said Tekun provides financing of up to RM100,000 for a period of up to 10 years at an interest rate of 2-4%, much lower than financial institutions.
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