Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today called on the public to generally buy Malaysian products first rather than only to focus on buying products of bumiputeras.

He said for a multi-racial country like Malaysia, the campaign to buy Malaysian products should be supported by all quarters, regardless of race, to maintain peace and harmony in the country.

“In the context of our country, I really think that we should give priority to the ‘buy Malaysian products first’ campaign.

“We don’t need to say ‘buy Malay first’ or ‘buy Muslim first’...I say we all should buy Malaysian products first,” he told a press conference after opening the Teluk Air Tawar’s House of Knowledge and flagging off the participants of the Teluk Air Tawar Merdeka convoy in Butterworth, Penang, today.

Recently, there was a campaign on social media by a small group to boycott products of non-bumiputera and to buy bumiputera products instead.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he disagreed with the boycott and that such an action was only done by people with shallow thinking.

- Bernama