MSMEs, Local Traders Must Be Empowered To Benefit From Economic Growth -- Armizan

BATU KAWAN, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- The government wants to empower micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and local traders so they can become key contributors to national economic growth and benefit from sustained economic expansion, said Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.

He said the move was important amid views that a gap existed between the country’s economic growth and conditions on the ground.

“Malaysia’s gross domestic product grew 3.7 per cent in 2023, 5.1 per cent in 2024 and 5.2 per cent in 2025 under the MADANI government. In 2026, growth reached six per cent as of the second quarter.

“There are now views that a gap exists between the country’s economic growth and conditions at the grassroots level. That is why the government sees the need to empower the people-focused agenda, including MSMEs and traders across various sectors, so they can also become key components of national economic growth,” he told reporters after officiating the Jom Malaysia Festival Penang 2026 at Batu Kawan Stadium here today.

Armizan said strong domestic demand and sustained household spending were among the factors supporting consistent economic growth, adding that the government wanted local products to also become an important component of that growth.

He said efforts to promote local products went beyond encouraging Malaysians to buy locally made goods, as they also aimed to build confidence in Malaysian brands and expand market access from the domestic market to national, regional and global markets.

“The agenda to promote the use and purchase of local products has now been elevated to a national priority and is being implemented in a more structured manner through a whole-of-nation approach involving ministries, government agencies, industry players, entrepreneurs, retailers, digital platforms, the media and the public,” he said.

Armizan said the Cabinet had on July 15 agreed to establish the Cabinet Committee on Empowering the Use and Purchase of Local Products, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister II Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry as its secretariat.

The committee’s terms of reference have been finalised and it is now ready to hold its first meeting, he said, adding that it would also examine challenges faced by MSMEs, including the influx of goods sold through online platforms.

Meanwhile, Armizan said Jom Malaysia, a strategic transformation of the Buy Malaysian Goods Campaign (KBBM), which has been running since 1984, was not a one-off programme.

Instead, the festival is one of the mechanisms to foster economic patriotism and build confidence in Malaysian products, he said.

The four-day Jom Malaysia Festival Penang, which began on Sept 17 and ends tomorrow, is the third and final edition for this year.

It features the RAHMAH MADANI sales programme, local product booths, government agency exhibitions and the 2026 Consumer Festival (CONFEST).

-- BERNAMA