'Buy Muslim First' campaign a huge success: Ummah

NGO Ummah claimed that its 'Buy Muslim First' campaign is on the right track as Malay business owners reported an increase in sales from 50 to 100 percent.

Ummah chairperson Aminuddin Yahaya (photo) told Malaysiakini that on the other hand, the NGO received complaints from Chinese business owners that their businesses suffered a drop of 50 percent.

"The campaign received overwhelming feedback. Many business owners told us that their businesses increased from 50 percent to 100 percent while Chinese businesses complained of a drop in sales of 50 percent.

"Our job now is to get more participation from the Malay sellers," Aminuddin said when met at his office in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.

He said that due to the popularity of the campaign, he received complaints from fellow members and business owners that they were being intimidated by certain quarters.

"I have yet to verify this but if it's true, it is unnecessary. We didn't ask the public to boycott products by non-Muslims, but to prioritise Muslim-made products."

Aminuddin admitted that despite the increase in sales, it hardly put a dent to factories and wholesalers as they are operated by non-Malays.

"Those affected by the campaign are shops... but factories and wholesalers still reap the profit as usual.

"We cannot do everything on our own. So far, those matters are unavoidable," he said.

Aminuddin also explained Ummah's vision to bring the Malay business community closer via a mobile application as inspired by the e-commerce giant Alibaba founder Jack Ma (above).

"The perennial problem with Malay businesses is that they don't have the right infrastructure to support them.

"We are going to fix that by having a virtual platform, just like how Jack Ma gathered small businesses through an application."

The chartered accountant is confident that the campaign will show a significant impact next year.

Ummah is currently pushing its campaign from state to state.

Aminuddin also claimed that some Malay businesses took advantage of the campaign's popularity by increasing the prices of the products.

"My advice to them is don't take advantage of your customers. We are looking at working long-term, not reaping a quick profit."

The campaign has received mix reactions from the public and caused controversy as it was said to have asked the public to boycott non-Muslim products.

This led Ummah to hold a media conference in early September to explain that it never urged the Malays to boycott non-Muslim products, and it claimed that the campaign was tarnished by some politicians who linked it to racism.

However, the social media was already rife with users calling for the boycott of non-Muslim products, prompting Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to advise against such a movement.

"Maybe there are some shallow-minded people who do such things. But it is not going to work.

"A boycott is not an effective weapon. It is useless to do so (and will) just cause the anger of others," Mahathir had said. - Mkini