Shopee helps parents to get school textbooks

Publishers and booksellers have joined hands with online shopping platform Shopee to provide textbooks and workbooks to meet the needs of parents across the country whose children began a new school year last month amid continued measures to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Noting frustrations reported among parents in Selangor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan who had been unable to source the books needed for their children, the Malaysian Book Publishers Association (Mabopa) and Malaysian Booksellers Association (MBA) said they had consolidated their stock into a single portal called “Kedai Buku Shopee”.

They have also urged their members with official distribution rights to increase stock allocations on their Shopee stores to address the issue.

“The movement control order should not be the reason why teaching and learning activities are halted,” Mabopa president Arief Hakim Sani Rahmat said in a statement.

“As publishers, we always strive to publish the highest quality textbooks and ensure availability nationwide. That is why we have gathered all our members and told them to increase their stocks for online sale, while simultaneously reaching out to our partner distributors and booksellers to discuss a way for us to help facilitate sales through Shopee.”

Tens of thousands of students began their school year on Jan 20 although only those in Form 5 and 6 are attending physical classes. The rest are following home-based teaching and learning, also known as PdPR.

MBA president Keith Thong said in this “technological age”, booksellers were “ready and prepared to serve”.

“In order to serve a digitally savvy generation, the speed of ‘on demand’ is very crucial and booksellers are on a continuing professional development agenda and adapting to serve better each day,” he added.

Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho meanwhile said the move “goes hand in hand with our promise to serve local communities”.

The Shopee portal which caters to students from Standard 1 to Form 6, can be accessed at https://shopee.com.my/kedaibukushopee.

Parents can use the voucher code “KEDAIBUKU10” to earn 20% Coin Cashback with a value of up to RM10.