The Malaysian Insight

MARA Digital Mall, set up to offer Bumiputera traders a place to sell electronic and IT products, has seen a revival in business thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After four years of indifferent business, sales have unexpectedly picked up because of new social and work norms that discouraged physical interaction and contact.

They told The Malaysian Insight the shift to set up remote offices and classrooms had given them a lifeline.

Sandi Saliman, 23, who works at a mobile phone repair store, said business had increased by 10%  since the movement control order (MCO) was enforced in March.

“Before the MCO, business was usually a bit slow. Once the MCO was relaxed in July, we saw an increase in sales,” he said.

“There are days when business is slow and there are busy days, that is normal. It is not right to say Mara Digital Mall is a failure.

“Business improved after the Covid-19 outbreak with people working and learning from home.

“They need laptops and phones; they don’t go out so they have more money to spend… business is good”

Mara Digital Mall opened in December 2015 to offer Bumiputeras a place to do business. It occupies the third floor of Bangunan Mara in Kuala Lumpur,.

Sandi said no one had shut down in the mall this year. However, The Malaysia Insight spotted a row of vacant lots. 

Sandi said those lots had been closed for two years.

He said rent was halved for mall tenants for six months during the MCO period.

The rent per lot costs RM2,000 to RM5,000 a month, depending on size and location.

Norazniati Mohd Rashid, 28, said, customers streamed into the mall as as soon as movement restrictions were eased.

“They needed to repair their mobile phones, laptops, because they had to work from home.

“During the MCO, we focused on online sales because shops could not open at the time,” she said.

“Even though business was slow, employers still paid their workers. No one was laid off.

“Although it was not much, there was business every day.’

Norazniati confirmed she was not obliged to buy from a single supplier as tenants of Mara Digital Mall were in the early days of the mall’s creation.

In the beginning, WGN Scan Sdn Bhd was the sole supplier of goods to the mall’s retailers.

“It was difficult to get certain items from them so we looked for our own suppliers. We are no longer tied to them,” she said.

Haikal Ismail, 22, said he received 10 to 15 customers daily at his mobile phone repair shop.

The Negri Sembilan native, who has been at the mall for a year, said it was busiest during lunch hour.

“During the MCO, business was slow three or four days in a week. After the MCO, we are busy nearly every day.’

The Mara Digital Mall was set up in other states but they did not thrive.

Malls in Selangor, Pahang, and Johor have closed down. – December 27, 2020.