KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian businesses must move away from competing on cheap prices and instead position themselves as a premium, "safe" destination in the global market, says Steven Sim (pic).
The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister said the country's economic narrative has shifted significantly, making safety and stability its new competitive edge.
"Overnight, Malaysia has been transformed from a cheap destination to a safe destination. A safe destination is a premium; you cannot put a price on safety," he said.
"You are a safe destination for data centres, a safe destination to trade, to store, to do tech, and to host certain services — not just cheap anymore,” he said in his speech during an event by the Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (Samenta) on Tuesday (April 21).
"Because of this, we can afford to offer a premium when it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, green business practices, and other high-level compliances,” he added.
Sim noted that he had been pushing for a shift in mentality since his tenure at the Human Resources Ministry, stressing that price can no longer be Malaysia's primary selling point.
He also commended Samenta for its visionary step in introducing the Circular Economy Certification (CEC), noting that such initiatives are vital for local businesses to meet the increasingly stringent demands of the global economy.
"I asked (Samenta national president) Datuk William Ng what the benefit is for companies registering for the CEC. He said it saves money, improves audits, and boosts efficiency.
"But I think he knows this is a mark of business best practices that we can sell, especially in a global economy that is demanding higher standards. We have to prepare now; somebody must kickstart the whole thing," he said, adding that Malaysian businesses are now in a position to command a premium.
To further bolster the initiative, Sim announced that his ministry is ready to throw its full support behind Samenta as an anchor representative for SMEs in the country.
He outlined two immediate avenues of collaboration between the government and the association.
"First, I have instructed SME Corp to work with Samenta to see how we can move forward together. Perhaps we can integrate or create a double-badging programme for our own ESG certification alongside your CEC certification," he said.
Sim also offering the backing of his ministry's own financial institutions to Samenta.
"We have four financing agencies and two banks under the ministry, and we are more than happy to work with Samenta to support this initiative and the SMEs that will be participating.
"I am asking for a date to sign an agreement with our four financing institutions and two banks," he added.
On Tuesday (April 21), Samenta launched the Circular Economy Certification (CEC) for SMEs, which is touted as the first of its kind programe in Asean and it is supported by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the provider of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards.
