Stop picking on new Bumiputera IT mall, says Mara chairman

Mara Digital, the new IT mall in the Mara building in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur, is not exclusively for Malay customers, says the agency's chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 29, 2015.Putrajaya’s effort to help Bumiputera retailers through the newly-launched IT mall, called Mara Digital, should not be questioned when other races have their own platforms to do business, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa (pic, below) said yesterday.

In an Utusan Malaysia report, the Ketereh MP said businesses in Petaling Street and Brickfields were monopolised by a single race, respectively too.

"In Penang, almost all places are like Petaling Street, why is that not questioned?

"Why only pinpoint Malays for having 32 stalls (in Mara Digital) which is for Malay youths to dabble in ICT? This is not fair," he told the Bahasa Malaysia daily.

Annuar expressed disappointment with groups that continue to criticise the mall, formerly known as "Low Yat 2", which opened its doors on December 8.

He said the public should support the Mara initiative instead of constantly attacking and linking it with racism.

"Mara Digital is not exclusive to Malay customers, the mall is open to all. A business cannot be based on racism. Would Malays only want to sell to Malays? Cannot, the business will fail," he said.

He said in the Mara context, Mara Digital was established to aid Bumiputera businesses as it was expensive and not easy to rent business premises in Kuala Lumpur.

"Therefore, we helped by getting a good location in the heart of the city," he said.

Mara Digital is the brainchild of Rural and Regional Development Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob following a Malay-Chinese racial scuffle that occured in Low Yat Plaza in July.

- TMI