The Malaysian Retailers Association (MRA) said its members needed a grace period of between 12 and 18 months.
MRA president James Loke said it normally would take at least a year for manufacturers to plan their production schedules and to implement the new policy by the end of the year would pose great difficulties for its members.
“The ministry should also engage all stakeholders before implementing the policy,” he said today.
“By engaging with the stakeholders, the ministry would be able to hear our views and suggestions.”
Also present was Ameer Ali Mydin, the managing director of hypermarket chain Mydin.
Ameer said the ministry needed to consult the industry players as well as the Parent-Teacher Associations.
“The policy has not been thought through. Let’s not make a change for the sake of change,” he said.
“There are seven million students which means seven million black shoes to be sold. Retailers would be happy to make the money but at the end of the day, the consumers will suffer.”
Ameer said retailers would not be able to meet demand for the black shoes within the timeframe set by the ministry as they needed time to change the product planning.
“The industry will bear massive losses with the remaining unsold white shoes. We still have white shoes to sell but the demand may not be there anymore,” he said.
“Let’s look at a more holistic approach. We need to make a decision quickly. The timing is critical, 12 to 18 months is much preferred.”
Education minister Maszlee Malik had announced that school children would be allowed to wear black shoes from next year, as parents had complained that white shoes could get dirty easily.
He said the new ruling on black shoes as part of school uniform would be implemented in stages in order not to burden parents.