CALLS to boycott non-Muslim made products are a political ploy to split Malaysians, said retailers associations.

Such a boycott was illogical and would not help Malay businesses, they said.

If the movement were really about boosting Muslim entrepreneurship, they said, it would have been introduced a long time ago instead of now, amid bitter rows between Malays and non-Malays over Jawi lessons in the vernacular schools and the continued presence of provocative Islamic evangelist Dr Zakir Naik in the country.

Ameer Ali Mydin, the Muslim managing director of retail giant Mydin, believe the boycott was impractical. There was no way of knowing which goods are produced in wholly Malay factories and which are not, he said, simply because such information is not compiled.

The shareholders of a retail company were also of various ethnic groups, said Federation of Sundry Goods Merchant Associations of Malaysia president Hong Chee Meng.

“In Malaysia, how many retailers have 100% Malay ownership? Shareholders are of different races,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Hong also questioned the motive behind the boycott and why it was only an issue on the peninsula.

“There’s no such thing in Sabah and Sarawak. This is because it’s just politics,” he said.

Ameer, who is president of the association of Malay sundry shop retailers, said the only companies which were clearly non-Malay were multinational corporations.

Otherwise, the only way to differentiate between Malaysian companies was by whether their products were halal or not.

“That’s about it,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Ameer and Hong were commenting on the boycott, which started on social media last week as a campaign to support Muslim-made goods but morphed into a movement against non-Muslim goods.

PAS has fully endorsed the boycott, starting with former Selangor PAS deputy ulama chief Ahmad Dusuki Abdul Rani followed by the party secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan.

Dusuki had said boycotting non-Muslim products would earn Muslims “pahala” (merit).

Some Muslim non-governmental organisations have also backed the Muslim goods-only campaign, such as Gerakan Pembela Ummah (Ummah) and the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM), which in April this year launched a similar campaign of its own. 

After criticism from Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Ummah chairman Aminuddin Yahaya yesterday said the campaign was not meant to be racist as it did not call for a boycott of non-Muslim goods but only to support products made by Muslims.

Aminuddin said the campaign was not linked to either the government or opposition parties, and said it was certain political party leaders who had turned what was meant to be a positive campaign to help Malay entrepreneurs into a racial issue against non-Muslims.

Ameer said instead of a boycott, a campaign should be launched to support made-in-Malaysia goods.

“They should be encouraging people to buy Malaysian – that will help the economy.

“I’m not saying I don’t support Malay entrepreneurs but such calls should be framed in a way that appeals to all races to support Malaysian-made goods.”

Meanwhile, not all Malay consumers interviewed agreed to participate in the boycott or felt they were able to stick to Muslim products only. 

Out of five shoppers The Malaysian Insight met, two said they would not buy a Muslim-made product if it was more expensive.

“I decide whether or not to purchase an item based on its price,” said Ilman Hamzah, 31, a civil servant from Johor.

Others also said price was a decisive factor as long as they were assured the item was halal.

Nurul Amiran Rosli, from Kedah, said she did not care whether a product was made by a Muslim provided it had halal certification.

“I will choose halal products that are affordable. Not all Muslims are able to buy expensive halal products,” said the 26-year-old housewife.

Entrepreneur Azri Atan, 31, and private sector employee Noridah Hamid, 50, fully supported the campaign and bought from Muslim traders only.

“I support the campaign as I believe the big companies are trying to sabotage Islamic products. At one time, I used to frequent a certain supermarket but when I found that Muslim-made products were hard to find, I stopped shopping there,” said Noridah, who lives in Klang.

Asked how she knew for certain whether a product was 100% Muslim-made, she said she bought items with brand names that were promoted as Muslim products on social media.

They said they regularly bought cooking oil, flour, soya sauce, rice and chilli sauce that were Muslim brands.

Mohd Shamsul Azlie Ariffin, 34, from Kelantan said he made sure that the daily essentials he bought were Muslim brands.

“I understand and support the campaign and that’s why I buy basics such as cooking oil from the Sani brand, and flour from the Faiza brand,” he said. – September 4, 2019.