KUCHING (Dec 8): Items produced by prison inmates should be featured alongside Sarawak-made handicrafts, textiles and food products at the Kuching International Airport's Sense of Malaysia outlet, suggested Tengku Ampuan of Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
According to Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak (Centexs) Commercial general manager Shahren Yusri, Tunku Azizah made the proposal during the outlet's official launch yesterday.
He told reporters this when asked about Her Royal Highness' feedback following her walkabout.
"The response was very good. Tengku Ampuan said we need to increase the variety of products. She said the products available here already meet a good level of quality, which was why she bought several items today to try herself.
"The best part was she said we managed to gather various types of products, not just food, and she felt this was very good. There was also the suggestion to bring in products made by prison inmates, where we could look into food items such as curry puffs and traditional kuih produced by them -- those were among the suggestions she put forward," he said.
Shahren said the launch marked a significant milestone for Centexs Commercial, which operates and coordinates the outlet in partnership with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.
"The outlet, now in its second year of operations, has shown strong sales performance. We reached over RM1 million this year, and daily sales average around RM3,000 and sometimes reach up to RM13,000 on weekends," he said.
He added there are currently about 25 Sarawak entrepreneurs who supply their products to the outlet.
"Our entrepreneurs are improving day by day. Previously, some packaging lacked detail, but now the packaging is much better," he said.
He said Centexs Commercial was also exploring expansion opportunities.
"InsyaAllah next year if demand increases, we hope to expand to Peninsula, but this is still under discussion with Malaysia Airports. Our goal is to bring Sarawak-made products beyond Sarawak," he said.
Also present during the launching ceremony was Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.