WELCOME: Naroden greets members upon arrival for the dinner.
KUCHING: ‘Kek lapis’ (layered cake) entrepreneurs must take advantage of the many business opportunities to promote and market the popular product at national and international levels.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development) Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais said this during an appreciation dinner organised by Kek Lapis Sarawak Entrepreneurs Association (PPKLS) after its biennial annual general meeting on Monday. Sarawak’s iconic kek lapis has become one of the state’s most popular take-home food to West Malaysia and Singapore, the assistant minister pointed out.
During his recent visit to 10 travel agencies in Singapore, he asked them what souvenirs Singaporeans must bring home from Sarawak. The agents told him the two most in demand were salted ikan terubok and kek lapis.
However, Naroden was disappointed that the association’s members had yet to tap into the export potential of kek lapis on a larger scale.
He noted that a female kek lapis entrepreneur from Melaka who came to Sarawak to learn the craft, recently won national recognition for promotion and packaging to export the product to markets such as South Korea and China.
“It would be good had the winner come from your association as it would promote kek lapis Sarawak internationally. I would like to see PPKLS members put themselves out there like this Melaka entrepreneur,” said the Assistant Minister of Resource Planning.
Naroden encouraged the association to conduct research to determine market demands, and adjust their recipes and manufacturing processes to suit the tastebuds and to cater to the growing demand for low-sugar desserts.
He called on the newly elected office-bearers to come up with new policies and ideas which, coupled with the experience of the previous committee and various government grants and assistance programmes, would carry the association and its members to greater heights of achievement.
He urged the association to seek information on government financial assistance and training programmes for Bumiputera entrepreneurs and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to build and strengthen the businesses of its members.
He reiterated the government’s willingness to support them in any way they can.
Earlier, organising chairwoman for the dinner and immediate past PPKLS chairwoman Jamyah Pawi commended past committee and members for teamwork and diligence in promoting kek lapis.
She thanked various government agencies for supporting the association’s activities.