The group is currently looking into better ways to approach SMEs in order to aid them with future funds

by NUR HAZIQAH A MALEK/ pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

BANK Muamalat Malaysia Bhd (BMMB) plans to diversify its products and enhance its footprints to step further into digitalisation as well as invest in industries that create jobs, namely the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

CEO Khairul Kamarudin (picture) said the group is currently looking at better ways to approach SMEs in order to aid them with future funds.

“As we can see, SMEs find it hard to get funding, so we keep returning to the drawing board to find better ways to serve them and one way to do this is via digitalisation and another is factoring,” he said at the Back to School corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme launch in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Khairul said 66% of Malaysian employees are under the private and SME sectors, meaning that it is a very important segment for BMMB to get involved in by providing funding, as opposed to focusing solely on its main nature of business.

He said there are two ways that the money can be utilised.

“One way is to create your own digital platform, and the other is to use it as a capital for doing businesses.

In terms of digitalisation, Khairul added that the bank is still in the preliminary stages of discussing with potential partners.

Khairul was appointed as the new CEO on Nov 1, replacing his predecessor Datuk Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid.

“Among the areas that I will be working on as the new chief are talent management, new products and processes, so that we can have a fatter bottom line,” he said, adding that with a fatter bottom line, the bank can have bigger CSR programmes and give back more to the community.

“That is the goal and we still have a long way to go. Other banks are also progressing steadily, and we don’t want to be left behind. We are looking at certain products that can leapfrog our position and give us better recognition,” Khairul said.

Meanwhile, the bank has allocated RM1 million for all 40 programmes related to CSR.

For its 2020 Back to School programme, which was initiated in 2013, the bank is providing school-related items to 147 students from four schools, each receiving RM250 worth of items and RM100 in cash, as well as a book voucher valued at RM30.

“This contribution is also a boost for the students to get excited and inspired in their studies. When they perform well, their socioeconomic standing in the future will be elevated,” he said.