President‘s Message

Dear Members,

It has been almost two years since the first movement control order (MCO) was enforced on 18 March 2020. Since then, we have seen many businesses suffer from the adverse effects of the pandemic. Despite this, MRCA continues to forge ahead with hope and resilience, knowing that “every cloud has a silver Shirley Tay lining”.

President, 2020-2022 In view of difficulties

Malaysia Retail Chain faced by the retailers Association and other businesses, MRCA together with our industry partners from Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPK), Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA), Bumiputra Retailers Organisation(BRO), Malaysia REIT Managers Association (MRMA), Malaysian Association of Theme Park and Family Attractions (MATFA), and Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (KL) Electrical Home Appliances Dealers’ Association (SWEDA), have been lobbying the government to ease restrictions imposed on retail businesses. We issued many joint statements calling for the government to help businesses suffering income losses during the various phases of MCOs, and to allow the re-opening of all economic sectors. With our constant engagements and dialogues, I am pleased to share that we have seen positive outcomes.

We also jointly raised our concerns to the government on the HIDE System which has caused fear among the public in visiting malls and other retail outlets. On this note, we attended several meetings organised by MITI and representatives from the Ministry of Finance to discuss and clarify the applications and initiatives of HIDE. MRCA has also been working closely with the government to provide more clarity on SOPs and to allow retailers to appeal for waivers or reduction of fines or penalties which may be unfairly imposed.

Since last August, MRCA has organised 205 activities, of which 91 were dialogues, engagement sessions and meetings with government agencies. With the launch of our F&B Division on 28 July 2021, officiated by Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, we hope to organise many more impactful activities in future.

Despite challenges, MRCA has kept the momentum going with many activities – highlights of which include:

“Tax Tips for Retailers, What You Should Know?”, facilitated by Dato’ Seri Raymond Liew from McMillian Woods Global.

“MRCA Legal Consultative Dialogue” – Dato’ Manjit Singh and Datuk Ringo Low conducted a legal consultative dialogue session on the COVID-19 Act.

“Reimagine Your Restaurants: Digital Evolution During the Pandemic in Malaysia” – MRCA Academy hosted a talk on leveraging social media platforms and driving business growth for restauranteurs, featuring speakers from Facebook Malaysia.

“Effects of Pandemic Stress on Mental Health and Coping Strategies” – As stress levels rise due to loss of jobs, businesses and even loved ones during the pandemic, MRCA hosted a webinar on mental health and coping techniques.

Our “A Good Deed A Week” charity initiative has brought hope to the underprivileged. MRCA joined forces with Direct Selling Association Malaysia (DSAM) to support the #Whiteflag initiative to raise RM500,000. To-date, more than 5,000 families have received food aid, and we aim to further expand these efforts.

In support of all our dedicated frontline medical personnel, MRCA and MRCA Branding Education Charity Foundation raised RM400,000 for the Sungai Buloh Hospital Relief Fund, providing the hospital personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies.

In addition to this, from June to end August 2021, MRCA also ran the “Spare Your Coins for Charity Project” – a fundraising effort encouraging members to donate spare change. To continue spreading kindness amidst tough times, we encourage our members and their families to collect loose change in containers, so that we can forward the funds towards good causes. A little goes a long way! This campaign has successfully raised RM11,000, which has since been donated equally to four NGOs.

I am pleased to share that MRCA in collaboration with KPDHEP and CITF, arranged vaccination for retailers and their employees starting 26 July 2021 at Menara KK in Kuala Lumpur, which recently ended.

For a better future, let’s continue to be strong and resilient. As quoted by Winston Churchill, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Enjoy our latest publication and I look forward to welcoming you at our future events. Meanwhile stay safe!