Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad arrives at the Marriot Hotel in Putrajaya September 18, 2018. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 18 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants to see Malaysia’s nasi lemak, tosei and dim sum being marketed globally through a franchise system someday.

“There is a lot of food in Malaysia that can be marketed as the country is endowed with a variety of good foods.

“We have not seen the sale of nasi lemak, dim sum and tosei growing big through franchise... They have the potential to grow globally,” the Prime Minister said at the Malaysian Franchise Awards Night 2018 here tonight.

Nasi lemak (coconut milk rice) is a popular Malaysian dish served with spicy prawn paste, while dim sum is a Cantonese-style steamed dumpling and tosei is a rice and lentil pancake.

Dr Mahathir said local entrepreneurs needed to learn the franchise system that had developed food products like McDonald’s and Starbucks worldwide.

“We still do not understand the franchise management and that’s why we have not grown big like McDonald’s.

“This is the government’s hope. The government is aware that franchise business is profitable for businesses and entrepreneurs,” he said.

At the event, Dr Mahathir presented Best Frachise Award 2018 to Global Art & Creative Sdn Bhd. The company also lifted two other awards, namely Best Franchisor and Best International Franchisor (Asia Pacific).

Present were Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof and Malaysian Franchise Association Chairman Datuk Radzali Hassan. — Bernama