Bumiputera traders are seeking the government's support and intervention to obtain business spaces in prestigious shopping malls and other strategic locations in the country.
Bumiputera Retailers Organisation secretary-general Mohamed Mustakim Manaf said very few Bumiputera traders were able to afford the rental rate for business premises in shopping malls.
"What frustrates us more is that Bumiputera traders are often placed at non-strategic spots while the prime locations are allotted to the global brands, even though we pay the same rent.
"In Thailand and Indonesia, domestic businesses are often given priority to operate in strategic spots.
"Unfortunately, our shopping malls do not have a similar mindset," he told the New Straits Times.
Johor Muar Bariani House owner, Fallah Ishak urged the government to implement a 20 per cent quota of business spaces in shopping complexes to be allotted to Bumiputera traders.
This, he said, was necessary because those managing shopping malls often prioritised large franchises and sidelined Bumiputera traders when renting out business spaces.
"Bumiputera tenants can compete with big brands, but we are often denied strategic business spaces to operate from.
"We do not expect subsidies from the government. We just want the government to intervene and ensure that we are given fair and equal opportunities to conduct business.
"Government-linked companies (GLCs) that manage shopping malls should be more sensitive to Bumiputera traders during this Covid-19 pandemic by providing reasonable rebates to us.
"However, despite our competitiveness, GLCs often reject our applications to rent business spaces because they are not confident in our products."
Fallah said he also recently had to close an outlet that has been operating for years in a renowned shopping mall in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
"My landlord refused to negotiate with the mall management to retain my business. I lost a long-operating outlet because of this."
Fallah also hoped that the government would roll out more business courses for Bumiputera traders and ease their access to loans and credit facilities.
The Bumiputera Prosperity Council, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, also found on Nov 18 that many Bumiputera traders were facing a similar plight as Fallah.
The council found that the presence of Bumiputera traders was still low in terms of ownership of business spaces in prestigious shopping malls and tourist spots.
The council, therefore, agreed to implement several measures to resolve this issue.
These included a review on the management of GLC-owned shopping malls to ensure that they were managed by local companies to prioritise the interest of Bumiputera traders.
The council also recommended the establishing a quota for Bumiputera-owned business premises in strategic locations, to increase their competitiveness and strengthen the Bumiputera economy.
Lauding this initiative, co-founder of Elriana Legacy (M) Sdn Bhd Dailami Daniel Mat Nor said the government's intervention is crucial to facilitate the expansion of Bumiputera-owned businesses.
"For example, I was offered a business space to operate at Berjaya Times Square through the Urban Youth Entrepreneurship Development programme by the Federal Territories Ministry.
"Other agencies, such as the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit and SME Corp Malaysia, should implement similar initiatives since there are many suitable business spaces for Bumiputera-owned businesses to operate from."
Dailami echoed the notion that many Bumiputera traders were unable to rent business spaces in prestigious shopping malls due to high rental rates.
"Shopping mall management also usually demand for excessively high deposits from Bumiputera traders, which constrains their business capital.
"This practice usually turns away traders who register smaller profit margins despite investing high amounts of business capital."
Dailami, therefore, urged GLCs and Bumiputera traders to discuss and develop a reasonable and affordable rental package for the latter.
Shopping malls, he said, should also consider designating special zones for Bumiputera-owned businesses to operate from.
Dailami also suggested for the government to rope in more local companies into pre-franchising programmes so that they could compete with international brands in the long run.
Aducktive Food Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mohamad Anif Azami called on the government to nurture more Bumiputera-owned small and medium enterprises to penetrate the international market.
"The government has rolled out many allocations and funding initiatives for Bumiputera traders. Now, it is time to embark on more focused intervention strategies.
"We have to identify Bumiputera with expertise and provide them with the right marketing tools and business strategies.
"For instance, the government should organise more trade exhibitions for Bumiputera traders to market their products to foreign countries.
"A robust intervention model should also be developed to elevate Bumiputera-owned brands into globally renowned brands."