Kota Bharu: Over 100 participants from Sabah and Sarawak are expected to join the Malaysian Armed Forces Veterans' Entrepreneur Empowerment Programme (Puvet) this year. Ex-Servicemen Affairs Corporation (PERHEBAT) Skill Training and Entrepreneurship Sector Head Dr. Nor Hayati Yahya stated that they are currently identifying qualified participants to join the programme.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the programme will focus on seven scopes: service, agriculture downstream industry, lifestyle, creative technology, welfare, manufacturing, and food and beverage. Successful participants will be monitored for a year. Dr. Nor Hayati mentioned this during the Kelantan and Terengganu PERHEBAT certificate presentation ceremony at Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Petra (KIAS) Nilam Puri, where 203 armed forces veterans received their certificates.
Dr. Nor Hayati added that PERHEBAT, in collaboration with the Defence Ministry, is committed to developing an effective ecosystem to prepare armed forces veterans with training, facilities, and suitable exposure. "As a training organisation oriented to the development of skills for personnel after ending their service, PERHEBAT needs to be more proactive and responsive towards the needs of the job industry and entrepreneurship," she said.
Meanwhile, Nik Hafiz Nik Hamid, 39, recipient of the Best Trainee Award in the Residential Electrical Wiring course, shared that the skills acquired during the three-month course in Ketereh will be beneficial when he retires on June 21. "When I went for the PERHEBAT course, I was ready to use the skills as my second career when I retire to support my family," the 21-year armed forces veteran said.
In addition, Kelantan and Terengganu PERHEBAT initiated a donation drive for Nur Dalila Farhana, one of the 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students killed in a bus crash in Gerik, Perak on Monday. Proceeds will be given to her father, Mohamad Isma Abdul Manaf, an armed forces retiree in Kampung Bharu Tok Dor, Jerteh in Terengganu.