KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 ― The story of a woman who made good in business with government aid has been uploaded on the twitter and blog of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last night.

Sharifah Dun said she lost her source of income when her husband lost his job at a factory during the economic downturn until their home was auctioned and car was repossessed.

"I did not give up and with only RM70 in my pockets, rice and food aid from Baitulmal, I set up a small nasi lemak business  at Wangsa Maju LRT station.

"I spent two months saving a little bit of money, enough to pay for space in front of a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. I them applied for aid from Tekun Nasional Fund and 1AZAM and from there I could rent a shop, buy kitchen equipment and hire a worker.”

Najib said Sharifah’s hard work is rewarded with daily income of between RM1,000 and RM2,000.

Sharifah thanked the government for being caring and looking for ways to help the people improve their standard of living.

She is among recipients of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government's initiatives to improve the people's livelihood. More than 100,000 people have benefited from 1AZAM.

About 2.26 million new jobs have been were created since 2010. The monthly income of 98 per cent of  lower income households (B40) has also increased.

1AZAM comprises five programmes namely Azam Tani, Azam Niaga, Azam Khidmat, Azam Kerja and Azam Bandar, to generate and increase the income of those in the e-Kasih system. ― Bernama