KUDAT: The Buy Malaysian Products Campaign (KBBM) is able to boost efforts by local entrepreneurs, especially in Sabah, to continue to emphasise on improving the quality of their products so that they can compete with branded products in the market.
LZ Industry Sdn Bhd founder Zaharinah Masair said the campaign was able to inspire entrepreneurs like her as it was a form of support by the Government in highlighting local products.
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“For me, KBBM is also able to be a platform to increase public confidence in local products, as this will also get the foreign market to be attracted, believe and be confident in Malaysian-made products because of the promotion and support from the Government through such campaigns.
“It will indirectly help entrepreneurs to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in turn will contribute to increasing income and more job opportunities, thus revitalising the economy,” she said at her factory, here.
She expressed the hope that such a campaign could be carried out consistently as it could get local entrepreneurs to always be enthusiastic and motivated to continue to improve the quality of their products, as well as productivity, in an effort to further expand their business potential.
Zaharinah said KBBM not only helped in the business recovery of entrepreneurs, but it also had the potential to produce more new entrepreneurs, especially among the young people, who saw the campaign as an opportunity for them to start business and create their own brand of products.
The woman, who also trained many new entrepreneurs, especially women who saw the potential in selling local-made cosmetic products, including through online sale.
The 33-year -old entrepreneur said she started her businesses from home in 2016 by producing soap products from sea cucumber before expanding to producing various cosmetic products such cleanser, face cream and moisturiser, and also abalone-based lipstick.
Now, Zaharinah’s home-based business has expanded and she now owns a factory to produce her brand of cosmetic products, as well as by other entrepreneurs, including from the peninsula, Sarawak and Brunei.
She said her company had produced seven cosmetic products so far, besides exploring new business potential by producing hand sanitiser and white coffee, which is now marketed at eight Bataras supermarket outlets in Sabah.
Her latest venture is called “Loving Bee” which focuses on selling honey and milk-based drinks and ice creams.
“Honestly, my cosmetics product business was quite affected because of the Covid-19 pandemic and because of that, I went into new business ventures by producing hand sanitiser, coffee products and selling drinks and ice-cream.
“The response has been very encouraging. Hence, the need for KBBM to be carried out continuously,” said the recipient of the 2019 Sabah Best Entrepreneur Award.
The national-level KBBM 2021, a branding platform to increase consumer confidence in local products, was launched by Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Rosol Wahid at Dataran Cenang Langkawi, Kedah, recently.
Through the campaign, Malaysians are encouraged to prioritise and support locally made products, especially in helping the country recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and thus revive the economy.
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