In a rather interesting report earlier today, the Minister of Rural and Regional Development, Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has suggested that a specific floor at the MARA Building in Kuala Lumpur to be converted as retail and wholesale space for telecommunication products. Interestingly, he nicknamed this floor as “Low Yat 2” which is indeed a referenced to the famed Plaza Low Yat in Bukit Bintang.
He also stated that the ministry is aiming to have as many established suppliers as possible at the so-called “Low Yat 2” which is located at the third floor of the building in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur. Furthermore, the ministry has also planned to have 100-percent Malay retailers to occupy the retail space while some flexibility will be allowed for suppliers since there are no Malay suppliers for the time being.
While he is aware that there are plenty of competition in Kuala Lumpur including from retailers at the adjacent Pertama Complex as well as Plaza Low Yat itself, he believed that this new space will provide more choices to consumers since they are able to engage directly with suppliers. In general, this is an interesting idea indeed and having more choices is usually a good thing although maybe not all the time.
Then again, building the space is just a part of the puzzle. What more important is that this “Low Yat 2” in MARA Building must be able to sustain itself in the long term in order to truly serve its purpose as another reputable retail destination for gadget lovers in Kuala Lumpur, rather than just for the sake of it.
[Source: Astro Awani. Image: Google Maps, MyIPO @ Flickr]
