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 have launched a Merdeka and Malaysia Day campaign built around being ‘kepoh,’ or nosy.
The campaign, ‘Kisah Kepoh Bisnes’ (The Business Busybody Story), features actress Aishah Azman as a young entrepreneur building a business. As she navigates the uncertainties of entrepreneurship, she is surrounded by Malaysian characters who ask frequent questions about her progress. The narrative follows how their curiosity, initially read as ‘kepoh,’ reveals itself as support, with the people who had been asking about her business also being the ones rooting for it and stepping in when she needs help.
The film’s narrative is led by a voiceover in which Aishah’s journey unfolds around family members, friends, neighbours, customers, communities and organisations who take an interest in her progress.
“From the moment we saw the idea, it connected deeply with our team because, beneath the humour, it reflects the fundamental responsibility of SJPP,” said Juanita Rusmini Abdul Jalil, Principal Officer, Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Berhad.
“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.”
“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,” said Syahriza Badron, Managing Director, THE SHOUT GROUP.
“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 run throughout the Merdeka and Malaysia Day period. The campaign began with a teaser phase ahead of the launch of the full film, alongside a special screening collaboration with TV3. Social media contests will invite Malaysians to share their own stories of support, with prizes to be won throughout the campaign period.
Credits
Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Berhad (SJPP)
Principal Officer: Juanita Rusmini Abdul Jalil
General Manager, Guarantee Schemes Division: En Mohammad Fairuz Hashim
Head, Strategy & Stakeholder Management, Guarantee Schemes Division: Mohd Fairuz Salleh
Project Manager: Syawal Razak
Senior Manager of Guarantee Schemes Division: Khairul Ashikin binti Md Yasin, Abdul Majid Firdaus Ibrahim
Manager: Ryan Koo, Suhaili Ahmad Nadzri
Project Admin: Sharifah Iylia Dhania Syed Amir
THE SHOUT GROUP
Co-owners: Shaun Tay & Ong Shi Ping
Managing Director: Syahriza Badron
Executive Creative Director: Wang Ie Tjer
Creative Director: James Voon
Senior Art Director: Shafiqah Bayali
Vernacular Copywriter: Zaffira Zakuan
Associate Brand Director: Florentyna Shamsul Kamar
Senior Producer: Cheong Wai Leng
Production House: KDCo
Managing Director, Executive Producer: Effendy Harjoh
Partner/Head of Operations, Executive Producer: Nor Syamimi Ali
Director: Fauzi
Producer: Nurul Syazwani
Post Production
Max Fx Studio
Offline/Online Editor: Max Phang
Grading: JF
TwoAm
Sound Engineer: Jason/ KK
