‘Govt can't do it all': Rafizi relaunches Ayuh Malaysia as movement to boost ‘third sector' social enterprises

Malay Mail

a day ago

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has today relaunched 'Ayuh Malaysia', a social enterprise initiative aimed at carrying out economic activities to benefit the society, rather than purely for profit.
The former economy minister said Malaysia currently relies heavily on the public and private sectors to provide goods and services — with little focus on social enterprises, which he dubbed as the third sector.
'A sustainable society must have strong engagement with the third sector. At present, the ones providing goods, services, and assistance to the people are either the first sector, which is the public sector, or the second, which is the private sector.
'But the public sector has its limitations; without taxes and revenue, the government cannot continue spending indefinitely. The private sector, on the other hand, is driven by profit, so prices will keep rising,' he told reporters after launching Ayuh Malaysia here.
The Pandan MP said Ayuh Malaysia was previously started in March 2022, but was disrupted by the 2022 general election and his subsequent appointment as a minister.
'In other countries, especially in situations like Malaysia's where the population is ageing, the third sector is absolutely crucial. Yet, if you go around Malaysia, hardly anyone talks about social enterprise,' Rafizi said when explaining his motivation.
'So when I was the minister of economy, during the drafting of the 13th Malaysia Plan, one key chapter was about establishing and strengthening the third sector in the country. But this needs to be driven by the people.'
He said having a strong third sector will help ease the government's financial burden in the future.
'What's clear is that there will be economic benefits for the people, but more importantly, having a strong third sector will help ease the government's burden in the future,' he said.
Rafizi added that Ayuh Malaysia will take six months to assess the response from the seven social enterprises participating in its pilot project.
'In Malaysia, the third sector is still in its infancy. We'll take six months to observe the response, the quality of ideas submitted, and the experience of those who step forward to lead because we want to ensure this doesn't become an avenue for people to take advantage and make money for themselves,' he said.
Rafizi recently resigned from the Cabinet after losing the PKR deputy post to Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In March 2022, Rafizi launched the Ayuh Malaysia campaign to attract the support of voters on the fence as the country gears up for the 15th General Election.
He had then said the decision to launch the campaign was taken after taking into account the results of the Johor state election and the views of various parties in PKR.