MINISTER WANTS MALAYSIANS TO BUY LOCAL GOODS

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (Bernama) -- Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Samad Monday called on Malaysians to give preference to the purchase of local goods to help further stimulate the domestic economy.

He said this was important more so at the time of the current depressed
state of the global economy.

The "Buy Malaysian Products" campaign and the "Price Reduction" campaign
launched recently were among the commitments by the Malaysian government in face
of the recession to ensure continued cashflow and stimulation of the domestic
economy, he said at the launch of the "Buy Malaysian Products" campaign at the
Giant hypermarket near here.

"These campaigns are serious efforts by the government and would be
continued despite the recession. It is hoped that these campaigns will leave
more money for spending in the hands of consumers and simultaneously help
stimulate the domestic economy," he said.

Shahrir also advised consumers to lodge complaints if local goods did not
meet reasonable quality standards so that improvements could be made.

Shahrir told reporters later that his ministry proposed to have a Malaysia
Retail Sales Index established to gauge the growth of the domestic retail
industry.

He said information from the index would be used to plan the expansion of
the industry.

"Right now, we have the Industry Output Index and the Consumer Price Index.
I want to propose to the Statistics Department and see whether they have the
necessary infrastructure to establish such an index," he said.
-- BERNAMA