KUALA LUMPUR, 20 August 2026 –To mark the upcoming Merdeka and Malaysia Day celebrations, Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Berhad (SJPP) – a wholly owned company under Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance that supports SMEs through Government guarantee schemes that facilitate access to financing and creative agency THE SHOUT GROUP, spotlights a side of Malaysians that rarely gets ever celebrated.
Malaysians are proudly known for being ‘kepoh’ (colloquial term for nosy). We ask how the business is doing, whether there are enough customers, or why things are done a certain way. Behind that curiosity is often genuine care, because the people who take the greatest interest are also often the first to share their support.
That insight forms the heart of SJPP’s Merdeka and Malaysia Day campaign, Kisah ‘Kepoh Bisnes’ (The Business Busybody Story) and features actress Aishah Azman as a young entrepreneur trying to build a business. As she navigates the uncertainties of entrepreneurship, she finds herself surrounded by familiar Malaysian characters who never seem short of questions about her progress. At first, their constant curiosity feels like exactly what Malaysians would call ‘kepoh’. But as Aishah’s journey unfolds, the story reveals something else: the people who have been asking about her business all along are also the very people quietly rooting for it, and when she needs them most, they do more than ask questions. They show up.
What began as a humorous observation of Malaysian culture ultimately becomes a story about the invisible support system of family members, friends, neighbours, customers, communities and organisations who take an interest because they genuinely want to see someone succeed.
Juanita Rusmini Abdul Jalil, Principal Officer of SJPP, said, “From the moment we saw the idea, it connected deeply with our team because, beneath the humour, it reflects the fundamental responsibility of SJPP. Entrepreneurship can be an incredibly rewarding journey, but there are also moments when businesses need someone to believe in them, stand behind them and help open the next door. That is where we want SJPP to be – a beacon of care and a bridge for Malaysian businesses when they need it most.
‘Kepoh’, in this story, is really about taking an interest in someone else’s dream and wanting to see it become a reality and succeed. In many ways, that is what we do every day. By helping businesses gain access to financing through government guarantees, we stand alongside the financial institutions and entrepreneurs to give viable Malaysian businesses the opportunity to move forward. The campaign’s theme of Malaysia Kita, Impian Bersama captures that belief beautifully: while the dream may begin with one entrepreneur, the effort to help it flourish belongs to all of us.”
Syahriza Badron, Managing Director of THE SHOUT GROUP, commented, “When we started thinking about Hari Kebangsaan and Hari Malaysia, we were very conscious of not falling back on the familiar narratives we see every year. We wanted to find a fresh way into what it means to be Malaysian by looking at the little behaviours that make us who we are. ‘Kepoh’ immediately stood out because it is so culturally familiar, yet hardly something we would think of celebrating. There was something creatively interesting about taking a word with such negative connotations and asking whether we had been looking at it the wrong way all along. More importantly, it gave us the opportunity to tell a Malaysian story that feels less like a grand statement about who we are, and more like an honest observation of who we actually are.”
Kisah ‘Kepoh Bisnes’ will unfold throughout the Merdeka and Malaysia Day period as a broader celebration of Malaysians supporting Malaysian dreams. The campaign began with a teaser phase before the launch of the full film, complemented by a special screening collaboration with TV3. Social media contests will also invite Malaysians to participate by sharing their own stories of support, with prizes to be won throughout the campaign period.
