KUALA LUMPUR: Businesses in this country, whether the production of goods or services, are open to all communities and cannot monopolised, said Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP), Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pix).
He said in a country where the people are made up of all races, the government must ensure that products and services complied with the business practices drawn up by the government while ensuring the rights and meet the needs of the consumers.
“The official stand of the government ... whatever business venture, comprising the production of goods or services, must first not be monopolistic in nature and priority must be given to a healthy business climate, competitive prices, quality products and services, without ignoring the halal element, and must protect the rights and choices of the consumers,” he said in the oral question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.
Saifuddin Nasution was replying to a supplementary question from Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) who asked if the government encouraged the campaign to prioritise Muslim products.
He said the government was for the implementation of the Buy Malaysian Product Campaign, thus ensuring a competitive business ecosystem and prioritising consumer rights.
He said every entrepreneur must continue to provide the best products and services for Muslim and non-Muslim consumers.
He added that the government would support any group of entrepreneurs as long as they observed the rules set by the government.
Earlier, when replying to a question from Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) who asked if the government saw the Buy Muslim First (BMF) had a negative impact on the country’s economic growth, Saifuddin Nasution said so far, the government did not have any statistics on the impact of the campaign. — Bernama
