By A. Stephanie
Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism minister Hasan Malek has waded into the row between Suria KLCC and one of its long-time tenants BritishIndia, saying the actions of the mall’s management appears to undermine the Buy Malaysia Campaign run by his ministry.
Hasan Malek
Hasan’s comments to Utusan Malaysia comes off the back of media flurry surrounding the upcoming injunction hearing on Feb 24 in which BritishIndia hopes to stay Suria KLCC’s vacate-or-be-hoarded notice (BritishIndia suing Suria KLCC, Feb 17, 2015).
The local retailer alleged in its press statement on Tuesday that this was despite it being a competitive paying tenant and the management receiving rental for the same month the letter was served (July 2014).
“We found out that our current premises is intended to be leased to a foreign fashion brand who already has an existing location in Suria KLCC. We are left with no choice but to resort to legal action to protect our rights and be treated fairly,” founder Pat Liew said.
It is this preference for foreign names that has Hasan riled up as he had had personally spoken to Suria KLCC management previously to let local tenants be, while continuing to back Malaysian brands.
He has now asked the ministry’s secretary-general Alias Ahmad to look into provisions in the law that can bring the mall to book.
“It seems that the management has ignored my advice. They shouldn’t decide on profits and business-to-business principles alone, but also support the campaign’s aspirations,” he told Utusan.
Hasan is the second minister to wade into the row, after Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (KJ throws hat into BritishIndia – Suria KLCC bout, Feb 18, 2015) noted that this is not the first time Suria KLCC has prioritised foreign names over local brands, in a Facebook posting.
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