PETALING JAYA, Oct 18 — Selangor will place greater emphasis on developing entrepreneurship within the creative economy sector as one of the key drivers of the state’s economic growth.
State executive councillor for entrepreneurship Mohd Najwan Halimi said local authorities in Selangor, including the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), are among the proactive agencies strengthening the ecosystem through various programmes and collaborations with local entrepreneurs.
“Selangor will begin exploring entrepreneurial sectors that we may not have previously recognised for their potential. God willing, I am confident MBPJ will play an important role in supporting this effort because we want to develop the creative economy in a broader and more comprehensive way.
“For example, in Bandung (Indonesia), creative initiatives have been developed to the point of earning Unesco recognition as a Creative City. So, we want to see Petaling Jaya, as a sustainable and liveable city, take the lead in this area,” he said.
He was speaking at the Petaling Jaya Potential Entrepreneurs Award 2025 ceremony here yesterday, which was also attended by Petaling Jaya Mayor Mohamad Zahri Samingon.
The event also saw the launch of the Petaling Entrepreneur Development Strategic Plan 2021–2030 (Version 2.0) — a key framework to strengthen the urban entrepreneurial community towards sustainability and long-term competitiveness by introducing high-impact, modern, and digitally driven approaches in line with current economic trends.
According to Najwan, MBPJ’s efforts to empower the entrepreneurship ecosystem will help produce more resilient and competitive entrepreneurs.
“This is an extraordinary achievement by MBPJ in particular. The next step is to find ways to sustain and integrate strong networks among these entrepreneurs to form a diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem, including those involved in the creative or ‘orange economy’,” he said.
Previously, Najwan had said that Selangor aims to become a regional creative hub, targeting an industry gross domestic product (GDP) contribution of RM20 billion by 2035.
The Selangor Creative Economy Action Plan 2025–2035, which focuses on the pillars of multimedia, heritage, and arts and culture, is expected to be launched during the upcoming State Legislative Assembly sitting in November.
He also anticipates that the plan would receive an appropriate allocation under the 2026 Selangor Budget to ensure the smooth implementation of the 10-year orange economy development agenda.
