UDA Holdings Berhad (UDA) has allocated a RM10 million incentive to assist 1,500 Bumiputera entrepreneurs who rent and do business at premises in shopping malls supervised by UDA, in major cities nationwide.

Its chairman Datuk Jalaluddin Alias said, as a government-linked company (GLC) under the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry, UDA is responsible for helping Bumiputera entrepreneurs, especially when the country is facing the current COVID-19 pandemic.

He said, among the UDA-supervised shopping malls are Angsana Mall Johor Bahru, Angsana Mall Ipoh, Angsana Seremban Mall and Kuala Lumpur Urban Transformation Centre (UTC).

“The incentives include a one-month rent exemption for tenants selling non-essential items and a 50 per cent discount for tenants selling essential goods, during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.

“Besides that, a 20 per cent reduction in rent is also given to tenants after the MCO expires until September while tenants are still allowed to have arrears for three months until Sept 30,” he told reporters after the ‘UDA Korban Perdana’ programme at (UTC) Seremban here, yesterday.

Jalaluddin, who is also the member of Parliament for Jelebu, hopes that through this incentive, it can stimulate business as well as the economy of the entrepreneurs.

In conjunction with the UDA Cares-Enriching Life corporate social responsibility programme, 50 asnaf (tithe recipients) and community members each received one kilogramme of sacrificial meat presented by Jalaluddin.

“The animals for sacrifice were also distributed to selected suraus and mosques in Selangor, Penang, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Sarawak and the meat channelled to asnaf and community members around the area.

“This contribution is one of UDA’s efforts to be kind to the local community and at the same time strengthen the brotherhood among community members in line with UDA's commitment to empowering the local people to make lifestyle changes,” he said.

The UDA 2020 Korban Perdana programme was conducted simultaneously throughout Malaysia from July 31 until today.