THE campaign to buy Muslim goods first has cash registers ringing for some traders.

A few of Muslim traders told The Malaysian Insight their sales have increased rapidly since the first campaign in April, and again when the matter became more heated in August.

Some of them however, were quick to add that although they were enjoying better business, they did not support calls for a boycott of non-Muslim goods.

The campaign was revived in August following national debate over the government’s plan to introduce khat calligraphy to vernacular schools.

Some had reframed the campaign into a boycott of non-Muslim goods and services.

Pasaraya Ikhwan Sungai Buloh communication officer Muhammad Syahid Khairil said the supermarket’s business had doubled and seen an increase in new customers.

Its main outlet is in Sg Buloh while its smaller shops are in the Klang Valley.

He said its outlets sold products made by Muslim and non-Muslim manufacturers, but stocked a higher number of items made by Muslim and Malay producers.

“Focusing on Muslim and Malay made products has been our emphasis for a long time. So, when the Buy Muslim First campaign came along, we were able to double our income.

“We’re also getting a lot more customers.”

For Mu’min brand of toiletry products targeting the Muslim market have performed well since the campaign went viral on social media.

Mu’min’s export manager Nurul Hanani Abdul Halim said the company was surprised at the uptick in sales that took a leap at the end of August as word of the campaign spread.

“Sales have increased by 100%, 200%. We don’t want to see it as a boycott (of non-Muslim goods) but just greater awareness among Muslim consumers.

Hanani said the company will use the opportunity to improve the quality of its products and services.

“We know that if we want to maintain business, we need to improve our standards to be on par with international products.”

A fish ball trader in Perak said demand for his food items had increased as more and more of his customers spoke about the campaign.

Salim Ishak, who owns Bebola Ikan Yong Salim Ishak, said he used to manufacture about 200kg of fish ball a day and now, production is at 400kg daily.

“We have six distributors, four in Perak and one each in Penang and Selangor. In my seven years in this business, praise God, I have never seen such good sales,” said the 43-year-old.

It did not matter to consumers that his fish ball products have yet to be given halal certification by the authorities.

Salim said he was in the process of applying for the certificate.

Meanwhile, Muslim Consumers Association Malaysia (PPIM) activist Nadzim Johan said the group’s monitoring of the campaign found that many producers were reporting increased sales.

“Among several dozen or so that I have been keeping track of, they reported soaring sales. These include paint companies, tyre companies and food product manufacturers.

“The campaign is working as consumers are really taking it up.”

Syahid and Hanani, however, said they believed in market competition and did not support any boycott.

“As a supermarket chain, we are not boycotting products made by non-Muslims. We will still stock them. We have just always stocked more Muslim made goods as that is our store’s specialty.

“We are not boycotting any goods. We just provide choice and allow competition.”

Hanani, meanwhile, said as a product manufacturer, Mu’min did not encourage support of any boycott and attributed higher sales to consumers awareness and choice.

“We believe in healthy competition.”

The campaign in April by Muslim pressure group Gerakan Pembela Ummah and PPIM called for Muslim consumers to support Muslim-only and Malay-only goods and services as a way to help the Bumiputera economy.

Many Muslim manufacturers and businesses have complained of difficulty in tapping wider markets, yet lamented the high cost of applying for halal certification.

In August, the campaign morphed into calls for a boycott of non-Malay goods on social media.

It remains unclear how this started, but the rhetoric came amid divisive debate over the khat issue and refusal by Chinese and Tamil education groups to budge on the government’s compromise.

The boycott has been condemned by several Muslim leaders, including Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other Malay ministers.

Malaysian Trades Union Congress president Halim Mansor urged the country’s 15 million workers to reject the boycott as it would hurt Muslim staff working in non-Muslim companies that produced halal products.

Even larger Malay retailers have condemned the boycott as “politics” and impractical. – September 24, 2019.