Mustapa: Bumiputera entrepreneurs must break free of business cocoon

Trade Minister Datuk Sri Mustapa Mohamed walks to the meeting room during the ‘Apec Ministers Responsible For Trade’ meeting in Hanoi May 21, 2017. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — Bumiputera entrepreneurs, especially small medium enterprises (SMEs) must strive ahead and break free of the traditional business cocoon which only seeks to sell products already saturated in the market.

Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said Bumiputera entrepreneurs at present are too focused on sales of textiles or products cheaply brought from countries within the region to be resold in the local market.

"We must graduate from such businesses and switch to those that are more sophisticated and of high value such as premium value textiles," he said after his keynote address at the Forum Explorasean: Opportunities and the Way Forward, here today.

He said Bumiputera SMEs must also take advantage of the e-commerce platform apart from exploring regional markets towards expanding their businesses.

Mustapa  said among the government initiatives to extend the e-commerce sector in the country is through the creation of the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) which will open up opportunities for 1,500 e-commerce entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.

”The primary objective of the DFTZ is to encourage SMEs to venture into overseas markets, including China.

"We want to see among the 1,500 e-commerce companies, also Bumiputera entities, representing each state," he added.

According to Mustapa, local SMEs, including Bumiputera SMEs, must explore the ASEAN market in view of the increasingly open global economy.

"In Malaysia, there are many opportunities, but in the context of the fast growing global economy, we must look at outside markets, moreso, when foreign companies are coming into Malaysia, including small businesses,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Malay Businessmen and Industrialists Association of Malaysia (PERDASAMA) President, Datuk Moehamad Izat Emir said Bumiputera entrepreneurs refusing to use consultancy services towards the preparation of working papers to obtain financing was among reasons their applications got rejected.

“Although many Bumiputera entrepreneurs do not have the required expertise for preparing quality working papers, they still refuse to use consultancy services, due to the perception that it entailed a high cost.

“Such a perception must be done away with as the consultancy service can help improve the chances of the Bumiputera entrepreneurs obtaining the financing and the cost also depends on their ability to pay.

"Consultants are also entrepreneurs and they too consider the position of the client before levying any charge ,” he added.

The one-day Forum organised by PERDASAMA was aimed at assisting entrepreneurs, particularly Bumiputeras, find new markets, apart from maintaining competitiveness in the field of entrepreneurship and areas of trade, industry and manufacturing. — Bernama