The study of final semester student’s intentions to become an entrepreneur in UiTM Kota Samarahan, Sarawak / Muhammad Zulasri Rosdi

For decades entrepreneurial activity is recognized as a significant contributing factor to the economic vitality of any country. In Malaysia, entrepreneurial activities are contributing vastly to the growth of the economic strength. Entrepreneurship activities are mostly done by the
Malaysian Chinese, and they can be considered the pillars of entrepreneurial activity in Malaysia. They have been trading since hundreds of years ago which explains why they have a very strong root in entrepreneurship activities. Meanwhile, the bumiputeras are considered a young player in the entrepreneurship world in Malaysia. It is because the bumiputera’s has involved in other types of socioeconomic activities since many years ago and entrepreneurship is not considered their strength and a lot need to be done to increase numbers of Bumiputera entrepreneurs and to make them more competitive in the business world. In Sarawak, the largest state in Malaysia, the Chinese ethnicity also plays a major role in the
entrepreneurism sector. Although the Chinese only represent not more than 40% of Sarawak population, they are representing almost 70% of total number of entrepreneur in Sarawak. For most Sarawakian, it is not something that is considered a problem in the society. But in terms of
the balance of financial power and economic control, it is something that they should be aware of. That is why more Sarawakian Bumiputera should pursue career in entrepreneurism not because on ethic interest or political agenda but to make sure the balance ofmoney and power is
not too far apart as well as improve economic level ofthe people itself. The leading idea of this paper is to investigate the intentions towards entrepreneurship of Bumiputera students from the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Kota Samarahan, Sarawak and to find out whether they are ready for the entrepreneurship activities. The research is conducted on students of business studies courses such as the BM220 - Bachelor in Business Administration (Hons) (Marketing), BM222 - Bachelor in Business Administration (Hons) (Finance), AC220 - Bachelor in Accounting (Hons), BM232 - Bachelor in Office Management (Hons) course at the UiTM Kota Samarahan and who are expected or likely to enter the process of entrepreneurship especially for students that are almost graduating from their studies. This study will help researcher to better understand how students feel about entrepreneurship in overall which can help the government to better develop method that can increase bumiputera interest in entrepreneurship. The research instrument is survey questionnaire with 50 questions which covered six dominant areas: demographic characteristics, Entrepreneurial Perception, Theory of Planned Behavior, Entrepreneurial Intention, Overall Perception and Open Ended Question. This paper is based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis which will indicate level of students’ intentions on entrepreneurship and their willingness to enter the world of entrepreneurship.