Keluarga Malaysia Riuh Tour: Entrepreneurs cheer platform for creative industry

MELAKA, Aug 6 (Bernama) -- The 3rd Edition of Kembara RIUH Keluarga Malaysia programme which started yesterday at Dataran Pahlawan here, has been cheered as an ideal platform to revive the creative industry for entrepreneurs and art activists to promote their products.

A multi-crafts entrepreneur, Saedah Jeragan, 63, said the fair themed Riuh Nau! enables small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to display various art and craft products, thereby increasing their income.

"The decoupage art products that I produce are sold on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, but it is also important for promotion on the ground in programmes like this.

"Besides promotion, we are also able to interact with external suppliers because the visitors who come to the stall are not ordinary visitors but are seeking creative goods to market," Saedah told Bernama here today.

The entrepreneur from Melaka said the government is also expected to continue organising tours like this as a platform to provide space to small and medium entrepreneurs in the country's creative industry to expand their businesses.  

Meanwhile, jewellery entrepreneur Eng Li Ann, 22, said it was her first experience promoting her products at the carnival and did not expect the response to be so encouraging.

The jeweller in earrings, rings and necklaces from Kuala Lumpur said that through the programme, her products will attract young people interested in women's jewellery.

"A platform like this is most suitable for promoting local products and most of the entrepreneurs who are participating in the three-day exhibition are young people.

"So, it is ideal to help us grow our business and introduce our products or brands to visitors," said Eng has been active in the trade for five years.

A craftsman of traditional archery equipment, Muhd ​​Fadhil Sufyan, 27, from Taming Sari Archery Collection said his products have been well received by visitors of all ages.

He said this product exhibition gave visitors, notably the younger generation, a chance to learn up close with the variety of traditional archery equipment and to try the correct archery technique for themselves.

"There are visitors who know about archery but have never tried it... here we give them exposure to archery and help those keen in this sport," he said.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa was reported yesterday as saying that the government is trying to re-invigorate the arts and creative culture industry during the transition to endemic phase, given the importance of this industry to national development.

He said one of the efforts made was through the organisation of the RIUH Tour across the country led by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (K-KOMM) through the MyCreative Ventures (MyCreative) Group.

The Kembara RIUH Keluarga Malaysia, which brings together creative entrepreneurs and local art activists, is expected to create at least 7,000 job opportunities in 14 locations across the country in addition to supporting more than 5,000 local businesses.

It is also in line with the government's efforts to increase the creative industry's contribution to GDP by 20 per cent with an estimated RM31 billion by 2025.

-- BERNAMA