THE GOVERNMENT MUST REGULATE PLATFORM COSTS TO PROTECT PMKS!
Picture a business that records RM16 million in sales, but ends up with a RM2 million loss.
The sales look big. Plenty of transactions. Products are moving. But there is no profit.
One of the biggest pressures is platform costs that are far too high. Commissions, transaction fees, advertising, promotional programmes and all kinds of other charges keep shrinking the margin.
That is why I always remind people: sales is not profit.
When online entrepreneurs have to carry platform costs of around 20% to 25% of every transaction, how much is really left after paying for product cost, staff salaries, suppliers, logistics, marketing, tax, zakat and operating costs?
I am not against e-commerce platforms. Platforms have opened up huge opportunities for PMKS to find customers and grow their market.
But this ecosystem must be fair and balanced.
Platforms should not keep growing and posting big profits while the entrepreneurs who drive the transactions inside them find it harder and harder to breathe.
The government must step in and regulate the platform fee structure. Not only to protect users from scams or products that do not meet standards, but also to protect the survival of local traders.
More than 96% of businesses in Malaysia are PMKS. When they are under pressure or forced to close, the impact is not just on the founder. Employees, families, suppliers and the whole economic chain feel it too.
PMKS representatives and entrepreneurs’ associations must be involved in every engagement session with platform operators.
Hear their voices for yourself. See the numbers and the full cost they carry for yourself.
We want platforms to grow. But Malaysian PMKS must grow together with them.
Let us not build a big digital economy at the expense of the local entrepreneurs who drive it.
#DatukWira #PMKS #UsahawanMalaysia #EkonomiDigital #ECommerce
Datuk Wira
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