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PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday launched the Paduri Madani Scheme under Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), a nationwide initiative aimed at strengthening economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs from low-income and vulnerable communities.
The scheme is expected to benefit 29,000 women entrepreneurs nationwide and is open to Malaysian citizens aged 18 and above with household incomes not exceeding RM5,880 per month or per capita incomes below RM1,470.
Positioning women as the foundation of family and community resilience, Anwar praised the strong repayment discipline demonstrated by female borrowers through AIM’s long-standing microfinance programmes.
“I am proud. We recently celebrated Women’s Day, and who are these women? They are our mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and younger sisters. If we truly understand that, then we should recognise that for so long there has not been a major programme dedicated specifically to women.
“So, AIM provides encouragement for women to prove that when they borrow, they repay their debts because women are resilient, credible, principled and possess strong values and character. When you borrow money and enter into an agreement, you must repay it. That is also a demand of the Quran, and they understand that responsibility,” he said during the launch ceremony in Ipoh.
The Prime Minister said the initiative aligned with AIM’s broader mission of helping families escape poverty through sustainable income generation rather than dependency on welfare assistance alone.
Under the scheme, applicants who have previously been blacklisted or declared bankrupt will still be eligible to apply without requiring guarantors or collateral.
The programme adopts an inclusive nationwide approach targeting seven key groups, including Malay, Chinese and Indian women, Bumiputera women from Sabah and Sarawak, Orang Asli communities, the Siamese community as well as B40 women in both urban and rural areas.
Financing packages under the Paduri Madani Scheme range from RM3,000 to RM30,000 for economic empowerment categories, including i-Paduri Mesra, i-Paduri Srikandi and i-Paduri Muda.
Meanwhile, social-focused financing categories such as i-Paduri Wibawa, i-Paduri Sejahtera, i-Paduri Bestari and i-Paduri Penyayang provide funding of up to RM15,000.
Anwar, who also serves as Finance Minister, highlighted AIM’s exceptionally low non-performing loan rate, saying repayment discipline among lower-income borrowers was often stronger than among wealthier groups.
“In 2025, almost zero per cent failed to repay. The wealthier people are, the harder it is to collect debt repayments from them. The people who repay their debts are the poor, and that is why I am proud of AIM,” he said.
The Prime Minister revealed that AIM’s total financing disbursement increased to RM2.8 billion last year compared with RM2.5 billion in 2023, with Sabah and Sarawak recording the highest number of entrepreneur participants at 53,000 and 43,000 respectively.
He also dismissed allegations that the federal government had neglected opposition-held states, noting that Kelantan received the highest AIM allocation of RM500 million for 2025, while Kedah and Terengganu received RM325 million and RM319 million respectively.
In addition to existing allocations, Anwar announced a fresh RM200 million financing injection from the MADANI Government to ensure continuity of the country’s micro-entrepreneur empowerment agenda.
During the event, the Prime Minister presented the Perak Outstanding Entrepreneur Award to Sharifah Nurul Shahida Syed Abdul Rahman of Shazam Catering & Food Services, S Manjula of Nhavin Enterprise and Lee Lai Wan of Lee Kam Sing Herbs Tree Enterprise.
He also handed over RM3,000 financing cheques under the Paduri Madani Scheme to five new entrepreneur participants from the Tambun parliamentary constituency before touring exhibitions featuring products from successful entrepreneurs representing every state.
In a separate statement, AIM said the microfinance institution had disbursed RM39.1 billion in financing to more than 1.18 million borrowers since its establishment 39 years ago.
Between January and April this year alone, AIM channelled RM1.07 billion in financing to 131,105 borrowers nationwide, underscoring continued strong demand for grassroots entrepreneurial funding programmes. - May 16, 2026
