KUALA
LUMPUR, Sept 10 ― Prioritising the purchase of Muslim-produced goods will help
improve the economic status of Muslim entrepreneurs in the country, said Perlis
Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.
He said by encouraging
Muslims to buy Muslim-made products, the community’s entrepreneurs will no
longer need to depend on incentives such as the Bumiputera subsidies.
“Most of the problems come from unfair economic distributions.
“But when everyone becomes
similarly wealthy, driving the same car, then there will not be anymore dispute
between races.
“One day, there will be no
need for the incentives allocated for Muslim entrepreneurs anymore when they
become successful,” Mohd Asri said during a forum titled “Kempen Produk Muslim:
Boikot Atau Bantu?” held at the National Art Gallery last night.
Mohd Asri who was part of a three-men panelist was referring to the ongoing
campaign to boycott products of non-Muslims or Bumiputera which started about
three weeks ago.
The boycott originally began
as a campaign by Muslim NGOs to encourage consumers to prioritise goods
produced by Muslim and Bumiputera companies.
However, the Muslim Consumers
Association and the Malaysian Chambers of Entrepreneurs Business Development
also called for a ban on non-Muslim products that use Jawi script.
“We (as Muslims) never told
people to victimise the non-Muslims, no Muslim will say 'burn this non-Muslim's
shop' or no Muslim will say, don't put this non-Muslim product in the shop.
“The campaign to encourage
Muslims to buy Muslim products has nothing to do with the 'so called' boycott,”
Mohd Asri said.
He added that no Muslims
scholar has ever indicated support for a boycott.
He also urged all Muslims who
were watching the panel session on live feed to make it a point to purchase
Muslim products from their fellow Muslims brothers and sisters.
“We must be reminded that,
when we buy these products, we are buying to gain merits (pahala) and not
because we are entangled in racial sentiments,” he said.
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan
Idris (UPSI) senior lecturer Rozaimi Ramle, on the other hand, urged Muslim who
run businesses to improve their attitude and offer better quality services.
“Why the Muslim business
owners lose out is because of themselves. They are not disciplined in running
their businesses.
“Have you ever try to go to
the shop and then find that it is closed when there was no indication from the
shop owner that it would be closed?
“Or when construction workers
deliver their work, they don't take the initiative to deliver on time. They do
things with the 'couldn't care less' attitude,” he said.
Rozaimi said all these must
change if the Muslims in the country want to be as successful as the
non-Muslims.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Muslim
Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) chief activist Datuk Nadzim Johan said
Muslim entrepreneurs do not take their work seriously.
At the same time, he said,
Muslims who end up in this state is also due to them not abiding by Islamic
teachings. Today, many don't follow the “right” Islamic teachings.
“If you look at the Japanese,
they are not Muslims, but they behave better than Muslims (when it comes to
work ethics).
“If we continue to have this
kind of attitude, who will respect us? Take this opportunity to correct these
morals. All these need to change,” said Nadzim.
PERLIS MUFTI: PRIORITISING MUSLIM-MADE GOODS WILL BOOST COMMUNITY'S TRADERS
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