He said the amount was an early allocation for AIM, which currently has 326,510 entrepreneurs under its Sahabat Usahawan initiative.

A more specific focus will be provided in the Madani Budget 2024 in October.

The prime minister announced this in his speech when launching the “Karnival Sahabat Usahawan AIM”, which was attended by some 8,000 Sahabat Usahawan from Kedah and Penang here today.

Present was AIM board acting chairman Syed Hussian Syed Junid.

AIM, established on Sept 17, 1987, has assisted the government in reducing the country’s poverty rate and for four million households to enjoy various benefits through the Ikhtiar Financing (Economic and Social) Scheme.

The prime minister said AIM’s functions and role in helping women, especially from the B40 group to come out of the poverty trap could not be denied.

For this reason, he will look into ways on how allocations to eradicate hardcore poverty can also be channelled through AIM.

He said AIM, which has enabled Sahabat Usahawan entrepreneurs to generate income through economic activities, holds a special meaning to him, and recalled how he approved RM200 million in funding to AIM in the 1990s when he was finance minister.

“After I was kicked out, from 2012 until now, there has been no allocation,” he said.