Familiarising traders with e-commerce to boost income levels during pandemic
KOTA BHARU: Just like a song and melody that are closely intertwined, dikir barat (a unique traditional musical art form popular in Kelantan) holds a special place in the hearts of the denizens of this east coast state.
Not having staged any live performance for nearly two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Sanggar Budaya Geng Wak Long dikir barat group finally had the chance to perform in front of an audience on Oct 31 as part of Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s (RTM) Selamat Pagi Malaysia programme that was aired live nationwide that Sunday morning.
The programme’s recording took place at Kem Putra, Kampung Chengal in Ketereh, here.
Also present there was the special guest for the programme Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
The dikir barat show was thoroughly entertaining even though standard operating procedures were in place to check the transmission of Covid-19.
“This is the first time my group is performing live since March last year following the enforcement of MCO (Movement Control Order). We are all so happy to perform again,” said lead vocalist or Tok Jogho, Mohamad Zuraidi Sufian, 28, who performed with 12 other members of his group.
Mohd Fadil Mohd Noor, 39, who is also known as Fadil Turbo and is the group’s Tukang Karut or jester, said the easing of movement controls has allowed the state’s dikir barat groups to be active again and continue with their task of upholding the cultural art form as a platform to deliver social messages to society.
During the MCO, Mohamad Zuraidi – better known as Die Kencana – and Mohd Fadil and the rest of their team tried to keep their art alive by making video recordings of their dikir barat presentations and posting them on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
“In addition to practising during the pandemic, we used digital technology to uphold the popularity of dikir barat. Our videos received encouraging response from netizens,” he said.
E-commerce platforms
As local cultural groups turn to digital technology to keep their art forms relevant, the business community here is also learning to embrace e-commerce platforms to boost their incomes.
On Oct 31, Annuar, who is also Member of Parliament for Ketereh, launched the #Saya Digital Keluarga Malaysia Parlimen Ketereh@ NegeriKelantan programme, which is part of a nationwide tour organised by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to popularise e-commerce among entrepreneurs.
The minister said more than 200,000 entrepreneurs nationwide have been involved in the #Saya Digital Keluarga Malaysia programme since its launch last year.
“We are targeting a bigger number (of participants) because we want to make sure that all traders, even those who trade on the roadside, participate in this e-commerce concept,” he said, adding that these efforts would ensure there is no digital divide among the small, medium and even micro-entrepreneurs.
Ice cream vendor Norlina Mat Noor, 40, is among the entrepreneurs here who benefited from taking their businesses online. Norlina told Bernama she used to sell ice cream at night markets but was forced to stop trading following the enforcement of the MCO.
“I then went online and now I can sell up to 1,000 boxes of aiskrim potong (popsicles) a month. Now my husband (Ardie Musmadi Che Mamat) and I are focusing on marketing our product via e-commerce platforms,” she said.
Cake and pastry seller Ruhasni Ismail, 51, shared that 90 per cent of her products are marketed online and that the response from customers has been encouraging.
“I’ve never had a shop. I bake my cakes and pastries at home and sell them online,” said the entrepreneur, adding that she has been receiving guidance from MDEC since 2015 and that the agency has been providing instructors to train traders here to conduct online businesses.