THE Federation of Malaysian Fashion, Textile and Apparel (FMFTA) appealed to Putrajaya today to allow the pandemic-hit sector to open in phase 2 of the national recovery plan.

It said the fashion industry was losing RM163 million a day due to the shutdown.

FMTA president Tan Thian Poh said a letter of appeal would be sent to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, International Trade and Industry Minister (Miti) and the National Security Council (NSC).

Tan said the FMTA members could not afford to wait to resume work in phase 3, which they feared would take longer than expected to achieve.

“Since the first movement control order in 2020, 15% of fashion, textile and apparel businesses have ceased their operations and another 30% are on the verge of closing due to lack of cash flow and future uncertainties.

“The supply chain of the fashion, textile and apparel industry in Malaysia employs about 500,000 employees nationwide. A prolonged shutdown will put all the 500,000 employees at stake, and this will definitely aggravate the unemployment rate in Malaysia,” Tan said in a press conference on Zoom.

Tan said FMFTA has previously sent written to Miti and NSC about reopening the sector but did not receive a reply.

In Phase 2 of the national recovery plan, only automotive, ceramic, export furniture, rubber, steel and cement manufacturers are only to open.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob said the whole country would reach phase 2 by early next month if vaccination rates continued to progress quickly as they had in recent weeks.

Tan said some of the industries allowed to open in Phase 2 did not appear to be more “essential” than fashion, textile and apparel.

“It is undeniable that fashion, textile and apparel products play a vital role in meeting our basic need of clothing.  

“Clothing is particularly vital for the growth of our infants, babies and children that requires changing their clothing every two to three months.

“Textile products are also important in all aspects of our lives and play vital roles in other industries namely in healthcare, construction, automotive,  agriculture and others,” he said.

Tan said FMTA members risked losing their overseas customers if work continued to be delayed and uncertainly over delivery persisted..

“Most of us will be looking at the public-private partnership Covid-19 industry immunisation programme. We will vaccinate our employees and we should be allowed to operate,” he said, adding that Malaysia needs a new approach to the pandemic as other countries have moved on and learnt to live with the virus.

In 2020, the Malaysian fashion industry reported a revenue of RM53.8 billion, with retailers accounting for RM29.6 billion of the total, and the manufacturers making RM24.2 billion.

FMFTA has 12 member organisations representing fashion designers, models,  boutique owners, brand owners, jewellery makers, leatherwear producers, retailers,  fashion accessories suppliers, batik entrepreneurs and manufacturers of footwear, apparel and textiles. – July 16, 2021.