Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub said the launch of the centres was in conjunction with the ministry’s efforts to open up IT centres nationwide.

“Following positive public feedback after the inaugural launch of the Mara digital mall at the Mara building in Kuala Lumpur, we plan to have Mara digital malls in all states.

“We expect those in Terengganu and Malacca to be operational in December,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara here today.

He was replying to Mohd Ali Rustam, who wanted to know when the ministry would build IT business centres nationwide, such as the Mara Digital Mall in Kuala Lumpur.

Commenting further, Ahmad Jazlan said the IT Centre at Anggerik Mall, Shah Alam, and Glomac Mall, Damansara, were expected to begin work early June to enable Bumiputera IT entrepreneurs to begin operations.

He said since the launch of the Mara Digital Mall in Kuala Lumpur last December, it had recorded sales of RM4.6 million and was expected to increase business by 5% each month.

He added that currently, the sales centre (Kuala Lumpur) had recorded 5,000 visitors daily. On weekends, the number went up to between 6,000 and 7,000.

– BERNAMA