IPOH, Committed to continuing to assist the people in reducing the cost of living, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) is launching two new programmes for the private sector under the Ihsan Rahmah Madani (IRM) initiative. Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said that these programmes, namely Ihsan Cashback and i-Mesra, aim to help Malaysians reduce the cost of living and enhance the competitiveness of local businesses. "Ihsan Cashback is an e-Wallet cashback programme that provides monetary returns on purchases made through partner networks, with the goal of helping consumers save on expenses, boosting purchasing power within the Malaysian economy and sustaining support for local businesses," he said after performing the pre-launch for the initiative and closing the Central Zone KPDN Carnival and Consumers' Festival 2024 here today. Armizan explained that the i-Mesra programme is a digital business management platform to assist food service entrepreneurs in inventory management, comprehen sive ingredient references for consumers, financial management, marketing, digital verification processes and liability protection. He added that these programmes are aimed at supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in the food and beverage sector. Both these initiatives are expected to benefit consumers and businesses across all sectors and services in Malaysia. "The food and beverage sector using the i-Mesra platform can offer special promotions or cashback to consumers using Ihsan Cashback," he said. He hopes that the combination of these two initiatives can help consumers reduce daily living costs and stimulate local businesses to expand their market in line with the KPDN initiative under the 'Buy Malaysian Products' campaign. The three-day Central Zone KPDN Carnival and Consumers' Festival at the Indera Mulia Stadium attracted thousands of visitors. Of particular interest was the Rahmah Sale, offering essential goods such as rice and eggs at prices 30 per cent lower tha n market rates. Also available were subsidised 1kg cooking oil packages and fresh goods such as chicken, fish, onions, and sugar. Source: BERNAMA News Agency