KUALA LUMPUR (March 21): Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) will continue its agenda to empower Bumiputera development by co-operating with several main industry players and technology agencies to spur educational, entrepreneurship and investment programmes for the group based on technology.
MARA chairman Datuk Seri Azizah Mohd Dun, through a statement, said the three-year co-operation agreement was reached via a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed jointly with Technology Depository Agency Bhd (TDA), HINO Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and SIRIM Bhd here on Monday (March 21).
“The collaboration is to reduce dependence on external resources through several areas of focus, including access to the global market, human resources development and transfer of technology and knowledge.
“This co-operation will not only benefit MARA and HINO but it will help to enliven further the involvement of Bumiputera in the automotive industry, especially MRO (maintenance, repair and operations).
“At the same time, it will help to create more skilled manpower in the near future,” she said in a statement. Meanwhile, Azizah said that MARA also co-operated with HINO Motors to create a highly skilled workforce development programme, especially in the field of commercial vehicle MRO. She said MARA, which played a role in developing the Bumiputra furniture Industry, namely FITEC, also signed an agreement with SIRIM Bhd for the purpose of the Furniture Products Certification Scheme which encompassed certifications and testing for the local and foreign markets.
In the meantime, Kumpulan SIRIM Bhd president and chief executive, Datuk Dr Ahmad Sabirin Arshad said SIRIM QAS International would certify the compliance of furniture according to the Malaysian and international standards encompassing the aspects of furniture safety, function and durability.
“Furniture industry manufacturers, producers and distributors are urged to obtain both the certification schemes, namely the SIRIM Eco Labelling Scheme and Furniture Certification Scheme, as an added value to the quality of their products,” he said in a statement.