Saifuddin raring to start portfolio
New minister vows to keep an eye on ministry’s state of affairs
PETALING JAYA: When Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail was informed that he would be appointed the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, he decided to tap the minds of his family members and close friends since he knew little about the portfolio.
His daughter and son then did the research on the ministry and briefed their abah.
“At first, the family was a bit reluctant for me to take up the job. I bought them dinner, convinced them and they relented.
“My daughter did research on the ministry. She told me, ‘Abah, you can make the ministry a powerful one by providing solutions to the rakyat as consumers.
‘The targeted groups should include retailers, small and medium enterprises, franchisers, innovators and online businesses.’
“It was quite interesting when my son told me that the strategy is to leverage the institutions under the ministry.
“He wrote a long message on the need to break down the silos in the ministry and provide ease of doing business to ensure that the supply chain is not distorted by unfair and unethical business practices,” Saifuddin added.
The 54yearold, who is PKR secretarygeneral and Kulim Bandar Baru MP, is raring to start his job in Putrajaya.
“I feel energetic and I look forward to running the ministry and serving the country and people to the best of my ability,” he told The Star in an interview.
The father of five said his “involvement” in domestic trade and consumer affairs began in 2008 when Tan Sri Shahrir Samad was the minister and he was MP for Machang.
“In Parliament, MPs raised matters like consumer protection and petrol subsidy. I remember how we used to argue on the high import of food stuff – about RM30bil – and if our currency was weak, we would have to spend more,” he added.
Now that he is helming the ministry, Saifuddin has pledged to stabilise the prices of goods and prevent shortage of supply.
His priority is to look at the overall ecosystem and supply chain of goods and services to ensure that there are no elements of cheating and unethical practices that would cause prices to rise.
Pakatan Harapan in its elections manifesto had, among others, promised to address the supply of essential goods and price inflation.
Saifuddin said the ministry would need cooperation from retailers and distributors to ensure that prices of essential goods remain stable and fair.
“This means we can encourage retailers, importers and distributors to sell goods by giving them tax exemption or subsidies for certain goods to ensure consumers’ benefit,” he said.
Asked whether he would follow in the footsteps of his Pakatan colleagues in exposing possible wrongdoings in the ministry, Saifuddin said he would seek the “state of affairs” of the ministry through briefings and audit trails.
“It is not a question of digging up wrongdoings, but a matter of finding out the state of affairs through briefings, audits and feedback from traders and stakeholders,” he added.