KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has taken the initiative to work with e-commerce industry players in promoting local products through the Buy Malaysia campaign, its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.
He said the campaign, which was launched by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998, was aimed to educate consumers on the vast array of high-quality Malaysian-made products as well as to encourage them to take pride in the works of their fellow citizens.
“Sadly, along the way, this vision was sidelined and forgotten by our predecessors, and so it is time that we reignite the campaign to set our domestic trade back on the right track. But we cannot do this on our own; we need the support of the private sector to push this national agenda forward.
“As such, we have been ramping up our efforts and started several new initiatives, including partnering with e-commerce players like Shopee, to provide local entrepreneurs with new platforms to sell their products and to give them the exposure, priority, branding and marketing support from world-renowned companies,” he said in his speech at the launching of Shopee 10.10 Brands Festival here today.
He added that the e-commerce industry was growing exponentially all over the world and presented great opportunities for consumers and entrepreneurs alike.
“Shopee’s own rapid growth is a testament to this fact. Having entered the market in 2015, Shopee today has over 200 million users in the Asean and Taiwan region and 20 million users in Malaysia alone,” he added.
He said Shopee was also looking to help Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) expand their market starting with the Singaporean market with the help of the Shopee International Platform.
“This is a game-changer for Malaysian entrepreneurs as they will now have the opportunity to penetrate the export market as well. My ministry will be working tirelessly with Shopee to identify gaps and engage with Malaysian SMEs which are currently not selling their products online,” he said. — Bernama
