The Malaysian Book Publishers Association (Mabopa) and Malaysian Booksellers Association (MBA) have urged their members with official distribution rights of school textbooks and workbooks to increase stock allocations on their Shopee stores to address the nationwide distribution issue.
The issue was reported earlier this week, with parents in Selangor, Melaka, and Negeri Sembilan, voicing frustration over their inability to find physical textbooks and workbooks for their children.
The associations with the help of the e-commerce platform Shopee have consolidated all the textbooks and workbooks offerings into a single “Kedai Buku Shopee” portal for parents to easily browse and get the books they need.
Mabopa president Arief Hakim Sani Rahmat said “The movement control order (MCO) 2.0 should not be the reason why teaching and learning activities are halted. Education is a high priority not just for parents, but also imperative for the country’s future. As publishers, we always strive to publish the highest quality textbooks and ensure availability nationwide. That is why, we have gathered all our members and told them to increase their stocks for online sale, while simultaneously reaching out to our partner distributors and booksellers to discuss a way for us to help facilitate sales through Shopee. Shopee has also been very responsive and has provided us with the support and infrastructure to solve this national crisis”
MBA president Keith Thong adds “In this technological age, booksellers are all ready and prepared to serve. Our MBA members are a very diverse group, with areas of specialism ranging from general bestsellers, textbooks, references, revision guides, as well as ebooks and online learning courses. In order to serve a digital-savvy generation, the speed of “on-demand” is very crucial and booksellers are on a continuing professional development agenda and adapting to serve better each day. A vote of thanks to Shopee for being a very robust and book-friendly marketplace.”
Shopee Regional Managing Director Ian Ho said “Responding to Mabopa, MBA and parents pleas goes hand in hand with our promise to serve local communities. Besides setting up Kedai Buku Shopee for parents, we will further our support to the community in a small way by giving out 20% Coins cashback vouchers. While this is not much, we hope that our efforts will nonetheless help alleviate the stress parents have been going through, and encourage the continuation of learning as we are firm believers in cultivating talent through education.”
For those seeking textbooks and workbooks on Shopee, the books can be found at https://shopee.com.my/kedaibukushopee, catering to students from Standard One until Form Six. Parents can also use voucher code “KEDAIBUKU10” to earn 20% Coin Cashback with a value of up to RM10 for purchases of books under the “Kedai Buku Shopee” initiative.
Source: MABOPA
