KUALA LANGAT, Nov 26 — The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) urges more entrepreneurs and Bumiputera youths to participate in the country’s wood-based industry.

Deputy Minister Datuk Willie Mongin said, even though there are some 1,900 entrepreneurs involved in the nation’s wood-based industry to-date, only around 400 of them are from the Bumiputera community and they are only involved on a small-scale basis.

"We are urging more youths and Bumiputera entrepreneurs to get involved in the wood-based sector such as making furniture, builders’ joinery and carpentry and kitchen cabinet as there is huge potential in these sectors.

"In furniture-making (wood-based), for example, we estimate the involvement of Bumiputera is not even five per cent,” he said after a working visit to the Wood Industry Skills Development Centre (Wisdec) in Banting today.

On his working visit to Wisdec, Willie has proposed for the skills centre to include finance and marketing syllabi soon to participants who are undertaking training courses at the facility which is under the supervision of the Malaysian Timber Industry Board (MTIB).

He said there is a need for participants at the Centre of Excellence-status facility to be given exposure to financial management as they already have good ideas and creativity which are translated into products.

"When they become entrepreneurs and if they don’t have exposure to financial management, this can be one of the factors for not succeeding to the final stage,” he added. — Bernama