Quotas at malls alone won’t help, says Malay business group

 

The government should come up with a comprehensive plan to help Bupiputera traders, not just give them 30% quotas at malls, says the Malay Chamber of Commerce (DPMM).

PETALING JAYA: A quota for Bumiputera traders at malls owned by government-linked companies (GLC) will not help these entrepreneurs compared to having a comprehensive plan aimed at encouraging them to do business, says a Malay business group.

The Malay Chamber of Commerce (DPMM) said these malls should offer packages that would cover the traders’ rentals to ensure the Bumiputera traders could be competitive.

Its president, Abdul Halim Husin, said a quota for Bumiputera-owned businesses at malls would not have much of an impact. He said the main issue was how goods and brands usually sold by the traders were not suitable for such malls.

Halim said more Bumiputera traders would dare to venture into malls if they were given more affordable rental rates and could set up shop alongside their non-Bumiputera counterparts.

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“If there’s a 30% quota for Bumiputeras, they shouldn’t be all in one place,” he said, adding that segregating traders based on race would only see people interacting with those of their own ethnicity.

He said placing Bumiputera traders among their non-Bumiputera counterparts would add to the customers’ shopping experience, giving them a chance to see items they might not usually buy.

Last week, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government planned to review the management of shopping malls owned by GLCs to ensure they were managed by local companies.

He said this was to make certain that more Bumiputera traders would operate there.

In November, Ismail had said Putrajaya had proposed quotas for Bumiputera-owned businesses at “strategic” locations such as malls to increase the community’s economic participation. - FMT