THE State Government will always give its commitment and continue to work hand in hand with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to ensure the manufacturing sector continues to operate in a safe and conducive environment.
Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Industrial Development (MID), Datuk Dr Joachim Gunsalam said in ensuring that Sabah remained as a preferred investment destination, his Ministry would continue to work to attract investors from outside to invest in Sabah and boost the manufacturing industry to generate more jobs for locals.
He gave this assurance when speaking at the launching of the Buy Sabah Made Products Campaign in Ranau here on Jan 27, which was officiated by Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor.
The Buy Sabah Made Products Campaign programme aims to instill the spirit of patriotism and pride among the people of Sabah towards locally produced goods, which are comparable to imported ones.
Dr Joachim said the campaign could also help SME entrepreneurs increase their sales revenue and help create jobs.
“If all Sabahans support this initiative by increasing the purchase of local products, of course it will boost our domestic economy and, at the same time, increase the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said.
The campaign is one of the initiatives under the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan of his Ministry to help SME entrepreneurs, manufacturers and also products made in Sabah itself.
According to him, various interesting and informative activities were also organised during the campaign, including the Sales Carnival by SME entrepreneurs, business matching, awareness programme and the opening of four more Sabah SME Centres in Tuaran, Keningau, Kota Marudu and Tawau districts this year.
To achieve the objectives of this campaign, he said, the Ministry has arranged 17 programmes to be implemented throughout this year.
These include the expansion of the Sabah SME product market to Peninsular Malaysia supermarkets through collaboration with Segi Fresh Supermarket and GM Klang Wholesale City.
“In this programme, some selected SME products will be marketed to the supermarkets and further promoted abroad. This programme can help increase Sabah’s export revenue and revitalise the transport sector.
“Besides that, several expos have also been planned to increase the sales revenue of SME entrepreneurs. Among the locations that have been identified are at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), the leading supermarkets in Kota Kinabalu and selected major districts,” he said.
In conjunction with this campaign, he said, the Ministry took the initiative to create a logo called “Authentic Sabah” which will be used on all products made in Sabah.
This logo will in the form of a hologram and distributed to all entrepreneurs registered with MID, including companies that have penetrated the export market.
Among the conditions set for the use of this logo is that the product must be produced in Sabah; penetrate local or foreign markets and meet the packaging standards set by the supermarket.
“This way, the Ministry can reduce the problem of dumping of products that use the identity of Sabah products but are processed or manufactured outside Sabah,” said Dr Joachim, who is also the Kundasang Assemblyman.
MID is also entering into strategic partnerships with several relevant departments and agencies to set up committees to create slogans, songs and campaign video clips.
“The Ministry collaborated with the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) to appoint the Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan Champion for 2021, Maya Hejnowska as the Sabah SME Product Ambassador,” he said.
The campaign song titled ‘Mantap Bah Ini Gaman’, whose title is taken from the campaign slogan “Buy Products Made in Sabah, Mantap Bah Ini Gaman” and was created by a local composer, was also played for the first time at the launch.
“Safe Food Industry Responsibility (MeSTI) and Halal certification are one of the conditions set before a product can be exported from Sabah.
“According to statistics released by the Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JHEAINS) in 2019, only about 250 companies or services have Halal Certification. This amount is too small compared to the number of SME products in the market and the number of exports cannot be increased due to certification issues,” he said.
Source: https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/186582/making-sabah-products-first-choice-to-carry-special-logo/