Kota Kinabalu: The three-day Kembara Riuh Bah! Keluarga Malaysia fair held at the Sabah International Convention Centre here that ends Sunday is a good platform in helping Sabah craft industry entrepreneurs revitalise their businesses.
Akin to seeing light at the end of the tunnel, craft entrepreneurs described the fair organised by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia through its agency MyCreative Ventures as a good start to regenerate their economy after their businesses were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of them, Shazleen Saidi, 39, from Pitas, said Kembara Riuh Bah! not only provided an opportunity for her to generate income, but also enabled her to increase the number of her followers on social site Instagram for her products. Shazleen also said it was jam-packed with programes such as art and music performances featuring local artistes which at the same time attracted more visitors starting as early as 9 am.
“Visitors were coming non-stop and they also enlivened things by visiting every booth provided here to see the uniqueness of the handicrafts and other items.
“Undoubtedly, the support from the public is great because I managed to get my estimated monthly sales revenue of RM3,000 in just two days through the sale of various handicraft accessories such as earrings, bracelets and necklaces,” said Shazleen.
Shazleen, who has been active in the Sabah handicraft industry for the past four years, hopes for the Kembara Riuh Bah! to be continued in the future by selecting major towns in Sabah as the venues.
Another craft entrepreneur, Hilson Matius, 36, from Kudat, said such a programme was very good because it provided an opportunity for handicraft industry players like him to rebound to generate an income, as well as promote their products directly to visitors.
Meanwhile, Ruby Arshad, 47, from Kota Kinabalu, said Kembara Riuh Bah! was a platform for local handicraft entrepreneurs to exchange views and build new business networks to further expand their market potential.
Ruby, who has been involved in the handicraft industry since 2008, said such an event could also open the minds of the people, especially the younger generation, that the craft and creative industries offered careers, apart from producing many successful entrepreneurs.
“It also creates healthy competition because the handicraft entrepreneurs who participated in this programme consist of two generations. It can be seen that the handicraft designs of the younger generation are more fresh and unique. So, this will provide new ideas, inspiration and innovation to improve product quality, ”she said.
Kembara Riuh Bah! Keluarga Malaysia was organised, among others, to bring together local creative entrepreneurs and art activists from 10 branches of the creative industry covering music, performing arts, creative content, design, culinary arts, visual arts and fashion.
