KUALA LUMPUR: The government views the e-commerce platform as a huge marketing tool to promote its Buy Malaysian campaign, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pix).
He said e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, can help boost locally-made products, and cited Shopee’s huge following, of about 20 million locals and some 200 million around the region..
“The government has allocated RM20 million to the ministry to promote the Buy Malaysian campaign. We will use all types of platforms to promote local goods,“ he said and mentioned the foyer at KLIA and main entry points into the country, which can be used to attract foreigners and locals into buying Malaysian.
The minister also spoke of the retail services industry, that it is a huge contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, which affects the nation’s economy.
He spoke of the fast changing world and that more people look to do their shopping in an easy and fast manner,hence the huge growth of the e-commerce industry which provides consumers with a wide variety of choices.
“The ministry also places importance on protecting consumers from being cheated on e-commerce sites as the number of online cheating cases are growing,“ Saifuddin said.
A platform which is clearly widely accepted globally, he said even the catering industry has embraced online marketing and they now have a dedicated site for customers to place their orders.
Meanwhile, on the reintroduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Saifuddin pointed out that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was merely responding to a call made by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research.
He said that the PM made it clear that if the public wished it (GST), the government will look into it but that it would not be brought up in this coming budget presented to Parliament.
However, he did state that this government is open to responding to the needs of the people.
