This study identifies the effect of government financial support services (GFSS) on the relationship between two dimensions of psychological factors in business ventures. As such, the study uses small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of various Malaysian sectors as samples, with two constructs used to represent the dimensions of psychological factors, namely, risk-taking (RT) propensity and self-confidence (SC). The study results revealed that both constructs had a significant influence on the propensity to venture into business (PVB). However, GFSS had an insignificant moderating effect on the relationship between the two dimensions and provided input for policy makers to enhance GFSS efficiency in order to positively affect the growth rate of new businesses in Malaysia. Hence, this study bridged the research gap by identifying the influence of GFSS on PVB. As GFSS are an important tool for stimulating growth of the new business venture, the findings of this study have implications for policy makers to improve the quality and effectiveness, especially the delivery of GFSS to the targeted group.

Islamic financial planning literacy is crucial to assist the government servants accomplish their financial security in their golden year to plan and save for retirement. This study aims to investigate the literacy of Islamic financial planning on the readiness of government servants for retirement. A quantitative survey using a standardized questionnaire and SmartPLS 4.0 analysis on 386 respondents was gathered. It was found that financial knowledge influences Islamic financial planning literacy and retirement readiness with saving attitude as the significant factor. Thus, Islamic financial planning literacy is a mediating variable between financial knowledge and saving attitudes towards retirement preparedness. The need for special financial literacy interventions targeting government retirees to improve the financial decision and retirement planning literacy of staff is critical. This study implies the importance of policymakers and financial education professionals to improve knowledge and outcomes in retirement planning. Future studies on the effectiveness of tailored financial literacy programs in enhancing Islamic financial planning among government servants is required.