Time to be counted again, Malaysia

It’s national census time again – that once-in-a-decade period when every head in Malaysia will be counted. The Population and Housing Census 2020 (Census 2020) is to help plan, formulate and implement policies for the purpose of national development.

The government is targeting sales of at least RM513mil in this year’s Buy Malaysia Campaign that will take place from July until the end of the year.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi said last year’s campaign from September to December saw sales of RM430mil for both Malaysian products and services.

The figures only cover major retailers and online marketplaces and do not include smaller retailers, for example.

“To revitalise and re-energise the economy, we have to focus on local enterprises. Their products will be given priority. If we can help our local enterprises, there will be no loss of employment,” he said during the launch of the Buy Malaysia Campaign on online shopping platform Shopee yesterday.

He said it was important to strengthen public-private partnerships to accelerate the digitisation of Malaysian businesses, especially for small and medium enterprises to ensure the domestic economy did not get left behind in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said both sectors played a role in addressing the challenging economic climate by reinforcing the government’s strategies and offering practical solutions that would benefit Malaysian businesses and consumers alike.

“For example, many workers who lost their jobs and struggling enterprises shifted to e-Commerce in order to supplement their income. Similarly, consumers flocked online to purchase daily necessities without putting themselves and their families at risk.

“Furthermore, the lower cost of daily necessities on e-commerce platforms like Shopee, due to the lack of middlemen and low overhead costs, also contributed to easing the otherwise heavy expenses,” he said.

Tan Ming Kit, Shopee’s head of fast-moving consumer goods, said the platform would focus on Malaysian-made products as well as local businesses through a new portal on its application.

He said when they first ran their campaign last year, they only had 2,300 made in Malaysia products on their microsite.

Today it has over 11,500 products.