Supermarkets should assist small entrepreneurs market their products without discrimination

 

THE impending closure of the Malakat Mall in Cyberjaya on July 31 has been widely reported in local newspapers and news portals.

The mall has had declining business since it was opened. Many reasons had been attributed to the closure one of which has been its main reliance on the Malay-Muslim demographic or the “Buy Muslim First” initiative which was not enough to sustain its business.

In Malaysia it is difficult to sustain any business relying on one ethnic or racial group as the population level is low. It also depends on the economic purchasing power of the community and numerous other issues. The MARA Digital Mall too faces similar problems.

Supermarkets, emporiums and retail chains should be directed to allow the sale of products from small enterprises which are looking for opportunities to expand their business.

The supermarkets and retail chains need to give more opportunities on their own or they should be compelled by law to ensure that a certain percentage of merchandise sold must come from local small businesses and SMEs.

One finds a huge amount of merchandise from China, which has eliminated a lot of Malaysian products formerly on display on the shelves and racks.

One does not have any negative feelings about this. However, this should not be at the expense of Malaysian manufacturers or importers supplying various consumer products to the supermarkets.

The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry should look into these problems.

One hardly finds any Indian products or merchandise on the supermarket shelves and this can be attributed solely to sheer discrimination than to anything else.

This is one of the reasons why Indian consumers have to travel to the “Little Indias” for their shopping needs to purchase a wide variety of local and imported products for their use, which inconvenients a lot of Indian consumers.

The government needs to advise the supermarkets and commercial managements that discriminating against certain communities is not right and that all Malaysian entrepreneurs should be given a fair chance to market their products, and that alternative less favourable options should not be forced on these consumers.

This is one of the reasons for businessmen wanting to open malls and supermarkets to cater to specific communities and interests when they feel discriminated against.

The government needs to take note of this negative trend by the supermarkets and retail chains who now have a captive clientele being forced to buy the products on sale without alternative varieties being offered.

The government should ensure that there is no discrimination of businesses or consumers by the supermarkets. A lot of Malaysian Indian and Malay entrepreneurs complain of these supermarkets and retail chains not giving any opportunities for their products to be sold in these places.

How can businesses from the minority communities prosper or sustain themselves if there are very few avenues to market their products?

The so called free market system is not totally free but controlled by the larger firms which give more favourable terms of credit and other conditions, and all these are weighted against small businesses.

The supermarkets can set up certain sections where one can get Malay or Indian products and this will surely lead to greater product variation and bigger sales and all supermarkets, manufacturers and consumer of these products will benefit from this arrangement. 

V. Thomas is a Focus Malaysia viewer.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia