SANDAKAN: A newly formed Cabinet committee will set targets for domestic and export sales of Malaysian products while coordinating efforts to reduce the country's dependence on imports.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said his ministry was finalising the committee's terms of reference and would arrange its first meeting as soon as possible.
He said the committee would decide on the policies, direction and strategies needed to strengthen the promotion, use and purchase of local products.
"We will determine suitable targets at the Cabinet committee level, including the impact on sales value," he told reporters after the launch of the Jom Beli Produk Malaysia (Jom Malaysia) Festival at the Sandakan Sports Complex on Saturday (July 25).
The Cabinet approved the committee's formation on July 15, with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof as chairman and the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry as secretariat.
Armizan said the committee would bring together ministries that were currently carrying out their own programmes separately.
Among those expected to be involved are the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry, Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry, Plantation and Commodities Ministry, Finance Ministry and Economy Ministry.
He said their combined involvement was needed because the production, marketing and sale of local products cut across the responsibilities of several ministries.
"At present, there are initiatives being carried out by different ministries, but many of them operate in silos.
"We want to bring all of these together so that we can assess their effectiveness and actual economic impact," he said.
Armizan said private-sector initiatives would also be included, citing "buy local" programmes carried out by e-commerce platforms such as TikTok and Shopee.
He said the government must find a balance when dealing with foreign goods sold through online platforms.
While imported products gave consumers more choices and sometimes lower prices, he said their impact on local micro, small and medium enterprises and consumer safety must also be considered.
"E-commerce regulation falls under the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, while imported goods also involve the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Customs Department," he said.
Armizan said Jom Malaysia was designed as a long-term national initiative rather than a one-off campaign.
He said it would be driven through four main pillars: turning it into a national movement, adopting a whole-of-nation approach, expanding its scope beyond goods to include services, and opening wider domestic and international markets for Malaysian products.
State governments would also play an important role, although the Cabinet committee would initially involve federal ministries.
The initiative, launched in Kuala Lumpur on June 27, is a revamped version of the Buy Malaysian Goods campaign introduced in 1984.
More than 100 local entrepreneurs, industry players and strategic partners took part in the three-day Sandakan festival, which ends on Sunday (July 26).
