Make Felda handicraft fit for Harrods, urges Najib
Make Felda handicraft fit for Harrods, urges Najib
The Star Online
KUALA LUMPUR: Handicraft made by Felda settlers can one day make inroad into Harrods in London if they are unique, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He threw a personal challenge to Felda handicraft entrepreneurs to make their products as unique and special as possible so that they could be exported.
“I want Felda handicraft entrepreneurs and businessmen to take the lead in the industry.
“You should make your products commercially attractive and create a good brand name to boost your sales
“It’s my wish that a year from now, Felda will be able to market its handicraft products in Harrods,†said Najib, who launched the Felda handicraft gallery and a book on the handicraft products at Kompleks Kraf here yesterday.
He was accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
As of last month, Felda’s “one area, one industry†programme has recorded RM2.19mil in product sales.
“It is expected that about 5,000 settlers will be involved in the handicraft industry within the next five years,†Najib said.
He added that Felda would build 20 supply centres during the Ninth Malaysia Plan period to help the settlers market their handicraft products, called Modern Malaysia.
Felda now had 11 handicraft-making and supply centres, which produced 52 types of products.
“Felda’s dry and frozen foodstuff with the commercial name F-Best Foods are being successfully marketed in Singapore, Australia and Dubai, and will be sold in China by next month,†he added.
Earlier, in Shah Alam, Najib said Malaysia’s stand on Iraq would always be consistent.
“Our stand is that the sovereignty of every nation should be respected,†Najib told reporters after launching the Rural and Regional Development Ministry’s Rural Human Capital Development Programme.
He added that if a country had to be attacked, the United Nations resolution as well as provisions in international law must be adhered to.
Najib was responding to a question related to US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s joint admission that their stance on Iraq might not have been right.
Bush had also admitted that the mistake he most regretted was saying “bring ‘em on†when responding in July 2003 to a question about Iraqi insurgency.
On another matter, Najib said that 219 members of the Malaysian Armed Forces had left to serve in Timor Leste yesterday.
“They left on three aircraft and arrived in Timor Leste safely at 6.30am today,†added Najib, who is also Defence Minister.
The forces, he said, would be stationed at the airport and port as well as important buildings such as government offices and embassies.
“Our personnel will serve in Timor Leste together with the Australian armed forces under the UN Sanction Mission,†he added.