Visitors flock to first day of 2023 MSAM Carnival

KEPALA BATAS - The first day of this year’s Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (MSAM), which was held in Bertam here, was well received and visitors who attended made the most of it by participating in the various entertaining activities provided.

MSAM 2023, held from today until Oct 8, was not only attended by visitors from Penang but also from Kedah who wanted to get more information about investment and savings.

The annual carnival for financial literacy, organised by Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), is also in line with PNB’s mandate to improve people’s livelihood for the sake of national prosperity.

Teacher Atiqur Rahman Mohd Salleh, 37, said he came with his wife, Norhayati Osman, 32, and their two children to glean information on investments and shares on offer.

"I saw an advertisement for this programme when I was shopping at Lotus (supermarket) and came straight here with my family. I came here because I wanted to know more about what Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB) has to offer.

"Anyhow, this is an opportunity to find investment or savings for the children because my wife and I already have an ASNB account. We also wanted to get information about finances at MSAM this time,” said Atiqur Rahman, who lives in Bertam.

Nurul Atikah Abdul Aziz, 35, took the opportunity to visit MSAM 2023 not only to get information on investment, housing and finance but also to give her four children the chance to participate in the various interactive games provided there.

Medical officer Nurul Atikah, who brought her four children aged three to nine, said the games were not only fun but also provided them with assorted information.

"My husband (Abdul Hamid Akhbar Ali) and I were really excited to bring the children to MSAM this time because not only do we want to participate in the activities but, who knows, we might win in a lucky draw. Hopefully, we do,” she said.

Abdul Hamid said in terms of the investment offered, he wanted to expose it to his children, even if it is a start through the games provided.

"Actually, I was surprised because the games were very interactive and the children could learn a lot, in terms of their needs and wants and financial savings,” said the bank officer.

A visitor who only wanted to be known as Tan, 43, was willing to come from as far as Sungai Petani, Kedah because she wanted information on investments and savings, especially for her children’s future because it is not easy to get an opportunity to attend MSAM.

"Not only can they get information but the various activities are suitable for children who can learn something new, such as saving money in a fun atmosphere,” she said.

Information Technology manager Prem Singh, 41, meanwhile, came to get more information related to investment and, at the same time, increase his knowledge in the field so that it would be easy for him to grow his investment.

"A programme like this is an opportunity for the public to get more complete information about investments and savings, so don’t miss the opportunity to attend to increase your knowledge,” said Prem, who lives in Seberang Jaya.

Eshah Sab, 65, did not know about the MSAM event and initially came to have fun at Setia Fontaines, but as soon as she discovered it, she along with her children and two grandchildren, did not waste the opportunity to enter and browse.

"After the security guard outside told me about this programme, I too went in and apparently there was an explanation about investments... I really liked this because even on my own, I always added to my investments at ASNB.

"It’s not only my grandchildren who enjoy playing in the activities here, I too enjoyed it, I was even given an umbrella and a bag here,” said Eshah, who lives in Pokok Sena.

MSAM 2023 provides various investment education activities and exhibitions set up by about 50 exhibitors consisting of PNB Group companies, ASNB agents, regulatory bodies and state government agencies.

In addition, visitors who register with the PNB Events App have the opportunity to win attractive prizes worth almost RM1.4 million, including a single-storey terrace house at Setia Fontaines in Penang, BYD Atto 3 Standard Range, Toyota Vios 1.5G AT, Perodua Axia 1.0L AV, Yamaha MT25 and Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The carnival is also being held in a hybrid format where visitors who cannot attend can follow it virtually on MSAM’s official social media page on YouTube and Facebook. - BERNAMA