SPEECH BY
THE HONOURABLE DATUK MOHD SHAFIE BIN HJ. APDAL
MINISTER OF DOMESTIC TRADE AND CONSUMERS AFFAIRSAT THE LAUNCHING OF ?TASTE OF MALAYSIA? PROGRAM
26 JUNE 2007, 2.00 PM
CARREFOUR EVRY PARIS
HIS EXCELLENCY DATO? S. THANARAJASINGAM
AMBASSADOR OF MALAYSIA TO FRANCE
ERIC BASCLE
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE GROUP CEO OF CARREFOUR
NOEL PRIOUX
CEO OF CARREFOUR ASIA
MR. SHAFIE SHAMSUDIN
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CARREFOUR MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE
HONOURED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
GOOD AFTERNOON.
IT IS A GREAT HONOUR AND PLEASURE FOR ME TO BE HERE WITH YOU THIS AFTERNOON. I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN BY RECORDING MY APPRECIATION FOR THE EFFORTS OF CARREFOUR GROUP (MALAYSIA AND FRANCE), WHO WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE EMBASSY OF MALAYSIA, MATRADE OFFICE AND TOURISM MALAYSIA HAVE PUT TOGETHER THIS ?TASTE OF MALAYSIA? PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMME.
THE PROGRAMME WILL BE HELD AT CARREFOUR EVRY STARTING 25 JUNE UNTIL 30 JUNE 2007. IN LAUNCHING THE ?TASTE OF MALAYSIA? PROMOTION HERE IN PARIS, I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A WARM WELCOME TO ALL OUR GUESTS WHO HAVE TAKEN TIME OUT OF THEIR BUSY SCHEDULES TO BE HERE WITH US.
IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO LEAD THE MALAYSIAN PRIVATE SECTOR WHO CONTINUES TO WORK WITH THE GOVERNMENT IN PROMOTING SME PRODUCTS LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY.
I AM CONFIDENT THAT THE SUPPORT THAT CARREFOUR IS PROVIDING WILL GIVE THIS GROUP OF SME?S A SIGNIFICANT BOOST AND A KICK-START AS THEY ENTER THE EUROPEAN MARKET. AND, MY FERVENT HOPE IS THAT THESE SMEs CAN EVENTUALLY MAKE A PERMANANT PRESENCE IN FRANCE AND EUROPE, THROUGH THE CARREFOUR CHAIN.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
you may be interested to know that ACCORDING TO THE WORLD COMPETITIVENESSYEAR BOOK 2006, MALAYSIA IS RANKED 23rd MOST COMPETITIVE NATION AMONG 61 COUNTRIES. ALSO, ACCORDING TO THE 2006 wORLD TARDE ORGANISATION report, malaysia was the 19th largest trading nation in the world.
THErefore, THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT WILL CONTINUE TO develop ITS POLICIES AND INCENTIVES TO ENHANCE MALAYSIA'S INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS.
THE PRESENCE OF HYPERMARKETS LIKE CARREFOUR IN MALAYSIA HAS BROUGHT CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS TO THE RETAIL SECTOR OF OUR ECONOMY.
FOR EXAMPLE, THEY HAVE INTRODUCED SYSTEMATIC, EFFICIENT AND COMPETITIVE RETAIL CHAINS USING STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGIES AND SUPPLY LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT. THIS HAS ACTED AS A SPUR TO OTHERS, PROVIDED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND NEW STANDARDS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE.
CARREFOUR IN MALAYSIA IS AMONG THE BIGGEST PLAYERS IN THE RETAIL BUSINESS SECTOR EMPLOYING MORE THAN 3000 PEOPLE AND HAVING 12 OUTLETS THROUGHOUT MALAYSIA. THE GROWTH OF HYPERMARKETS IN MALAYSIA SUCH AS CARREFOUR HAS ACTUALLY GENERATED A WHOLE RAFT OF NEW BUSINESSES AS THE HYPERMARKETS SEEK TO SOURCE THEIR OUTLETS THROUGH DOMESTIC SUPPLIERS.
THUS, THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA WILL CONTINUE TO PROMOTE THE CONCEPT OF, ?SMART PARTNERSHIPS? FOR THE BENEFIT OF RETAILERS AS WELL AS THE PRODUCERS, SUPPLIERS AND, OF COURSE, CONSUMERS.
ONE OF THE BENCHMARKS OF A COMPANY WITH HIGH STANDARDS OF INTEGRITY IS ITS COMMITMENT TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. CARREFOUR, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN A NUMBER OF SOCIAL PROGRAMMES AND FOR THAT, I WISH TO THANK THEM PUBLICLY.
NOT ONLY DOES THIS MAKE GOOD SOCIAL SENSE AND DISPLAY GOOD ETHICAL STANDARDS BUT IT MAKES SOUND ECONOMIC SENSE TOO. MAY I SUGGEST THAT THE MORE THE BIG PLAYERS HELP IN THE NURTURING OF SME?S THE GREATER WILL BE THE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND THE LARGER THE INCREASE IN THE SPENDING POWER OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY. THIS TRULY IS A WIN-WIN SCENARIO.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THIS PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMME, ?A TASTE OF MALAYSIA?, PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY FOR SMEs TO EXCHANGE IDEAS, ACQUIRE NEW KNOWLEDGE, IDENTIFY BUSINESS POTENTIAL AND BUILD NEW BUSINESS NETWORKS.
THANKS TO THE EFFORTS AND CREATIVITY OF MANY PEOPLE I BELIEVE THAT MALAYSIA HAS WON THE TRUST in OVERSEAS MARKETS AS PRODUCERS OF HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS. THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT WANTS TO BUILD ON THIS SUCCESS STORY AND THEREFORE SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EVEN MORE VIBRANT, DYNAMIC AND STRONG SME SECTOR. IT IS ALWAYS WORTH REMEMBERING THAT THE CURRENT GIANTS OF RETAILING SUCH AS CARREFOUR STARTED OUT AS SMALL LOCAL BUSINESSES.
These attributes are the business building blocks that all sme?s can follow and in so doing BECOME MAJOR CONTRIBUTORs TO THE ECONOMIC well being OF our NATION.
IN order to spur growth in small and medium enterprises the MALAYSIAN government has established THE NATIONAL SME DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL CHAIRED BY OUR PRIME MINISTER. ONE OF THE STRATEGIC THRUSTS IDENTIFIED BY THE NATIONAL SME DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL IS TO BUILD CAPACITY AND BUSINESS CAPABILITY. SEVEN BROAD DEVELOPMENT AREAS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, NAMELY:
1. MARKETING AND PROMOTION,
2. TRAINING AND HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT,
3. ADVISORY SERVICES,
4. ENTREPRENEUR DEVELOPMENT,
5. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT,
6. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND
7. AWARENESS AND OUTREACH.
in addition, the COUNCIL FORMULATES POLICIES AND COORDINATES SME DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES BETWEEN MINISTRIES AND AGENCIES. one of the overriding aims of the council is to REALIZE THE FULL POTENTIAL OF SME?s AS SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORs TO ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE VALUE CHAIN.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
AMONGST THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROSPEROUS NATIONAL ECONOMY IS A FLOURISHING SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE SECTOR. MALAYSIA IS NO DIFFERENT. LARGE INDUSTRIES, AND MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS ARE AND WILL REMAIN DEPENDANT ON THE SMALL AND MEDIUM INDUSTRIES? CONTRIBUTIONS AND SERVICES.
SME CONTRIBUTE TO MALAYSIAN ECONOMIC PROGRESS IN VARIOUS WAYS. FIRST, BY CREATING EMPLOYMENT IN EXPANDING RURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITIES; AND, SECONDLY, BY PROVIDING MUCH NEEDED DIVERSITY, CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION TO THE ECONOMY AS A WHOLE. THE SME?S POTENTIAL TO EXPAND COMMUNITY BASED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY CAN MAKE A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION NOT ONLY TO THE COUNTRY?S EXPORT PERFORMANCE BUT BY RAISING LIVING STANDARDS AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
WE LIVE IN AN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION AND THE CHALLENGE TO SMALL ENTERPRISES WILL BE HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH IN WORLD MARKETS AND THE EXPANSIVE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE. TO REAP THE POTENTIAL HARVEST, SMES NEED TO CONTINUOUSLY STRENGTHEN THEIR CAPACITY AND CAPABILITY TO PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AT INTERNATIONALLY COMPETITIVE PRICES.
THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT IS mindful of the need OF sme?s TO UNDERGO A SHIFT IN MINDSETs. THEY need to TRANsFORM THEIR BUSINESS MODELS, update the WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS, remain COST efficient AND RESPONSIVE TO MARKET CHANGES and consumer demand. THEREFORE, I WANT TO ENCOURAGE MORE SME?S TO INVEST IN UP-TO-DATE BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES. COMPANIES LIKE CARREFOUR HAVE SHOWN THE WAY THROUGH THE USE OF IT SYSTEMS, FOR EXAMPLE, IN INVENTORY AND STOCK CONTROL MANAGEMENT, PROCUREMENT AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.
AS MALAYSIA CELEBRATES ITS 50TH NATIONAL ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR IT IS WORTH REMEMBERING THAT 50 YEARS AGO THERE WAS NO MEANS OF TRANSPORTING OUR UNIQUE FOOD PRODUCTS TO COUNTRIES LIKE FRANCE. YET HERE WE ARE TODAY IN 2007 LAUNCHING THE ?TASTE OF MALAYSIA? PROMOTION. NEW FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION, FOOD PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES AND MODERN MARKETING TECHNOLOGIES ALL SERVE TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES UNTHINKABLE ONLY 50 YEARS AGO. THEREFORE, WE MUST MAKE SURE THAT OUR BUSINESS ASPIRATIONS AND MANAGEMENT ATTITUDES REFLECT THESE CHANGES AND RESPOND TO THE OPPORTUNITIES.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT?S task IS enabling and facilitation. IT IS the BUSINESS COMMUNITIES THEMSELVES that NEED TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP in order TO profitably DEVELOP trade BOTH IN THE DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL MARKETS.
BUSINESS LEADERS ARE THE ONES WHO NEED TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS, take the risks and rise to the challenge. it is the business leaders who ARE THE ONES TO COMPETE FOR MARKETS and it is theSE leaders who must respond TO THE rising EXPECTATIONS OF THE CONSUMERS. yes, i appreciate that the commercial world is tough and highly COMPETITIVE AND therefore, to my list of business leadership qualities, perhaps i should add resilience.
gathered here today IS a wide spectrum of sme leaders and to them i say this; IN ORDER TO GAIN FROM THE OUTSOURCING opportunities enabled by the LARGE COMPANIES, try to replicate their approach. for example, i think most WOULD AGREE WITH ME THAT EFFECTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES ARE VITAL. TODAY, THROUGH THIS PROMOTION, you will HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN INSIGHT TO INNOVATIVE business processes AND STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY WORLD RETAIL LEADERS.
i am sure that CARREFOUR WILL NOT mind me urging THE SMES to ?pick-YOUR-brain? and that is one of the reasons why I WELCOME THIS KIND OF COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE FROM SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE CORPORATIONS LIKE CARREFOUR.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
AT THIS JUNCTURE, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK CARREFOUR FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE ?TASTE OF MALAYSIA? PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMME. I AM CONFIDENT THE people OF FRANCE WILL ENJOY OUR MALAYSIAN PRODUCTS. I CANNOT LET THIS OCCASION PASS WITHOUT MENTIONING That malaysia is a good place to visit in any event and especially in 2007 ? the ?visit malaysia year?.
I AM SURE THAT THE LAUNCHING OF THIS ONE WEEK PROMOTION (STARTING FROM 25 JUNE UNTIL 30 JUNE) WILL SIGNAL THE START OF MUTUALLY REWARDING collaboration. I HOPE TOO THAT THIS PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMME WILL PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR SME?S TO DISCUSS AND EXCHANGE IDEAS ON OTHER OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL AS FORMING COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIPs AND STRATEGIC ALLIANCEs.
FINALLY, In WISHING YOU ALL EVERY SUCCESS, IT IS my GREAT PLEASURE to LAUNCH THE ?TASTE OF MALAYSIA? PROMOTION AND IN so DOING I INVITE YOU ALL TO SAMPLE, TASTE AND enjoy THESE DELICIOUS QUALITY MALAYSIAN PRODUCTS.
THANK YOU.