By Shannon Teoh
June 22, 201 | The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — Two years after coming to office with his 1 Malaysia concept, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today that the slogan was more than empty rhetoric but a policy that will improve the lives of the public.
He said the 1 Malaysia concept promises to prioritise the people with improvements in public service delivery and economic reforms.
“1 Malaysia is also products and services which will lighten the burden of the people and improve their quality of life,” the prime minister said at the launch of the pioneer Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia (KR1M) thrift store at the Kelana Jaya LRT station today.
He said that this included other initiatives such as the Klinik Rakyat 1 Malaysia which provided affordable healthcare for all Malaysians.
The KR1M, mooted by the government but operated by local retail giants Mydin, promises essential goods at up to 50 per cent discount, in hopes of countering surging inflation.
According to Mydin, the pilot store will sell 1 Malaysia-branded goods such as rice, milk and diapers without profit-motivation.
The move comes as Putrajaya was forced to make cuts to a subsidy bill that would otherwise have doubled to RM21 billion this year while it grapples with inflation that hit a two-year high of three per cent in March and continued climbing to 3.3 per cent last month.
If successful, the store will spawn more outlets in other rail stations that cater to lower income commuters, Mydin managing director Datuk Ameer Ali told reporters earlier this week.
“The cost of promotion usually adds 25 to 30 per cent to the price tag. With the 1 Malaysia brand, it is the PM himself who is providing the promotion,” he said.
Basic household goods such as sweetened creamer are being sold at KR1M at RM1.95 instead of RM2.80, and diapers at RM20.50 instead of over RM40 as found in Mydin stores.
Najib added that KR1M was an example of public-private partnerships that would help the poor and low-income group.
The prime minister is expected to call a general election within the year but recent hikes to fuel, electricity and sugar prices have sparked public anger, leading to protests from groups such as fishermen, whose recent strike caused a spike in seafood prices.
The government has repeatedly explained that it must cut subsidies to ensure that the budget deficit, which hit a two-decade high of seven per cent in 2009, is reined in to a projected 5.4 per cent this year.
1Malaysia is not just rhetoric…..it is PURE BULL–IT!
It is even worse then the time-wasting Captcha used on this site.
The fact that Ibrahim Ali could speak with impunity and immunity is testimony that
1 Malaysia is just rhetoric!
One “1Malaysia” shop to ask Malaysians forget the billions stolen from all Malaysians..rich and poor alike.
“1Malaysia” slogan out to fish poor Malaysians votes.
Support for them…getting lesser and lesser.
Something better than nothing.
PM Najib hear me! PM Najib hear my petition!
PM Najib hear my petition! PM please hear me!
How can we rakyat entertain the thought of national unity when our minds reel and writhe in suppressed fury, our bodies with pain, our souls in limbo by the verbal insults and threats of Ibrahim Ali, Zahid Hamidi, Mahathir Mohamad and those of that ilk that tear asunder the very social fabric of our society?
How can we rakyat entertain the talk of El Dorado and quality of life when our children are suffering from need, our neighbors suffering from need, so many suffering from need?
How can we rakyat entertain the image of grace and a better society when our beloved country is suffering from and disfigured by the leprosy of peculation and by the profligacy of BN Government under you?
jibby is banking on those un-discerning minds with gimmicks like this. no need for details like who qualifies. how is the cashier to determine if a customer is of low income? how does a true low income remote kampung person get to this thrift store? oh and how much is jibby going to stock in this store? can i resell the rm20 diapers for rm30 and who’s gonna stop me? a new batch of 1Malaysia enforcement officers?
this is one of the funniest policy implementation i’ve seen. typical of umno dildo minds, short sighted, rudimentary, and vestigial.
it’s just trying to influence micro-economics by central government when they don’t know how to plan the macro-economics with good and sound policies.
They are using the same approach with the calling up of the rallies’ organisers as the Home Minister cannot adjudicate between good and bad intentions but instead follows the Emergency laws blindly or eyes wide open.
Before buying food-stuffs from this thrift store, you need to check the quality first. Are they selling factory reject foodstock? Has anyone inspected their packaging operations?
Is this another private incentive that has received grants from the government to fund the project?
The small provision shop owners are going to raise hell as the chain of such stores will threaten their existence.
Captcha is better today after 3 changes….
C’mon NAJIB,
if not rhetoric, then what?
Such cock and bull…..
Here is the irony, he chose to KR1M to make this statement when it actually examplifies the kind of ideas that will fail. Private label stores have been tried and in many places and do not work. There simply is not enough demand to sustain the stores at the low end. It will likely close within six months to a year. They would have been better of naming 1Malaysia to all Mydin’s private label products but it would look like a PR exercise. Still it would be better than one that ends up a failure.
I am really surprise Mydin agree to this. I guess its because its a small cost to kiss-up to Najib in his hours of desperation. BUT it exemplifies how the govt can play havoc to private enterprise EVEN the good ones like Mydin. Any foreign retailer would have told you it was a lousy idea and could have proven it with data from their stores.
The real question is will Najib’s career end before KR1M closes or after?
Forget about Comical Jibbie. He is going to disappear after the 13GE. If you are penniless and really in need of medical aid, you might consider doing this—–
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/21/verone-one-dollar-robbery-healthcare
Najib-1malaysia
Crusade Ali-1stockupfoodmalaysia
Moodin-1melayufirstmalaysia
Ahmad-1pendatangmalaysia
Nasir-1pelacurmalaysia
All these are umno goons mind you. If not rhetorics then what is it?
I am beginning to get the idea that Najib does not know what he is talking about. He is just merely following the script written by his PR firm and maybe instruction from his wife. He is another version of IA, but he is not seditious. He is certainly not in control.
Ya, 1Malaysia is not just rhetoric, it is just pure bull, wasting our PR money.
We need to change the tenant at Putrajaya.
More than just rhetoric, the 1malaysia thingy? Yeah. Agreed. It is rhetoric plus a little bit more, jib. Really, it is rhetoric plus a little bit of lemon scented nonsense.
7-11 is doomed. So are all the small retail sundry shops run by pops and mums.
Will they have a 30sen roti cani outlet soon? teh tarik at 40sen? nasi beriyani at 75sen? mee goring at 0.70sen? bread at 30sen a loaf?
How about a 1Malaysia nasi kandar shop then selling food at RM1.00? The mamak shops will close in no time.
Is this another Government-subsidised thing? Will they remove the subsidies after the elections if they win?
“1Malaysia was more than empty rhetoric
A policy that will improve the lives of the public”
A vote fishing speech of a PM in panic
Forgetting all their alleged dirty politics
Come GE13, they will have to face the music
Victory for PR will indeed be historic