PUTRAJAYA, Dec 9 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also Minister of Plantation and Commodities (KPK), today joined over 2,000 participants in the five-kilometre Agricommodity Walk, held in conjunction with the National Agricommodity Day (HAKN) 2023 along the Perdana Promenade here.
Speaking to reporters earlier, he said the programme which was flagged off at 7 am, was aimed at inculcating healthy lifestyle practicies among the staff of KPK and its agencies as well as the public who also participated.
Besides this, he said it was also aimed at giving exposure to the community on KPK’s role, in addition to the priority of national commodities and commodity products such as oil palm, rubber, kayan wood, cocoa, pepper and kenaf.
The Agricommodity Walk 2023 is among the programmes held in conjunction HAKN, organised by the KPK, and officiated by Fadillah at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) last week.
The Agricommodity Walk programme was enlivened by several leisure activities such as aerobics and zumba, performances by buskers at Suka Buka, an exhibitions by KPK agencies, and various attractive lucky draws.
Among the agencies that held exhibitions, starting at 7 am, were the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Malaysian Rubber Board, Malaysian Timber Industry Board, as well as 13 other agencies.
“The ministry will continue its commitment to ensure the agricommodity sector stays relevant as the main pillar of the national economy, while appreciating and recognising all parties involved in the national agricommodity sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Nur Mikael Hanafi, 10, when met by Bernama after the Agricommodity Walk, said events such as these are always keenly awaited.
“I like jogging or doing any kind of exercise, and today it is a bit special as I am having fun with my mother, who is a KPK employee, and seven-year-old sister,” said the Year Four student of SK Kota Warisan.
KPK employee Annis Ibrahim said that it was an opportunity that she had been waiting for.
“My work involves a lot of movement and outstation travel, so whenever there is an opportunity to engage in some healthy activities, I will not miss it,” she said.
“I myself can see the exhibition and get more information about agencies under the KPK when I visit the existing exhibition, and I want to invite others to do the same. Have fun while increasing knowledge about the commodities.”
In other developments, Fadillah said the commodity sector still represents the biggest contributor to the country’s income reaching an export revenue of RM120 billion as of September 2023.
“Besides the challenging situation in terms of world economy, for in terms of geopolitics we (KPK) still contribute a large part to the country if compared to last year. Although it has decreased somewhat but in terms of volume, the amount is still the same.
“Because of the foreign currency exchange, in terms of the value of the money it is a little less but the contribution from our commodity sector is very good,” he said,
He also said among other things, the Malaysian International Furniture Fair which was held for four days in March had generated sales of over RM1.2 billion.
MIFF is Southeast Asia’s largest and leading export-oriented furniture trade fair, showcasing the widest collection of Malaysian-made wooden furniture, home furniture and office furniture.
