News From : DagangHalal.com (26 Feb 2013)
The Halal Park in Tambun needs to properly market itself and to promote its services in order to reach its intended target market.
State executive councillor Datuk Hamidah Othman said while the park, which was located within the Mara Industrial Area, had good infrastructure with 54 entrepreneurs having set up businesses there, it was sorely lacking in marketing and promotional efforts.
“To ensure the success of the Halal Park, I have instructed the relevant government agencies to look into helping the entrepreneurs in this aspect.
“We need to think out of the box and carry out various initiatives to ensure their business expansion.
“For example, I think setting up a website to promote the Halal Park is a good idea,” she told reporters during her visit last Friday.
Hamidah said relevant agencies such as Sirim had also been instructed to help the Halal Park apply for the Good Manufacturing Practices or GMP certificate.
She said with such accreditation, suppliers and wholesalers would be more confident working with the entrepreneurs.
“The annual production at the park is RM20mil and I am optimistic that with better promotion, the figures can be increased.
“The Halal certification logo in Malaysia is well accepted by other countries and this is an added advantage to us,” she added.
She said there were also plans under the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle to get northern states in the country, including Perak, to collaborate with southern states in Thailand.
“Such cooperation can well benefit our entrepreneurs and we hope to carry out the programme soon,” she said, adding that Thailand’s Halal logo certification was also well received worldwide.
The entrepreneurs’ association chairman Abdullah Sani Shaari said there was a need to have more signboards to promote the area, suggesting that a huge billboard be created at the entrance to the park.
“We also hope that the state government would include us in its overseas trade missions so that we can promote our products more effectively,” he added.
By MANJIT KAUR