{"id":627674,"date":"2026-04-24T10:36:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T10:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/627674\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T10:36:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T10:36:20","slug":"from-trimming-menus-to-margins-how-some-malaysian-businesses-are-surviving-the-global-energy-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/627674\/","title":{"rendered":"From trimming menus to margins: How some Malaysian businesses are surviving the global energy crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 \u2014\u00a0Local businesses are already feeling the adverse effects of the global energy crisis caused by the Iran war<\/p>\n

After surviving the Covid-19 pandemic six years ago, these small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are now forced to adapt to the \u201cnew normal\u201d of rising fuel prices and supply chain disruptions.<\/p>\n

While the government\u2019s newly announced RM10 billion financial cushion and extended e-invoicing transition offer some long-term hope, several local SMEs are in a race for survival, struggling to cope with rising operational and supply costs.<\/p>\n

Durian dilemma<\/p>\n

Durian online store Dking has been around for 17 years, specialising in exporting and supplying various durian products \u2014\u00a0from the king of fruit itself to other durian-related confectioneries and products \u2014\u00a0to over 10 countries such as China, Turkiye and even Canada.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

One of Dking\u2019s founders, Leron Yee, said their business relies heavily on transportation. \u2014 Picture by Choo Choy May<\/p>\n

One of Dking\u2019s founders, Leron Yee, said their business relies heavily on transportation. \u2014 Picture by Choo Choy May<\/p>\n

The company which started as a humble fried durian stall in 2009 has grown significantly over the years with six outlets around the country including in the Klang Valley, Melaka, Penang and Pahang.<\/p>\n

However, Leron Yee, 42, who is one of the founders said they are currently quite affected by the energy crisis, especially as their business relies heavily on transporting their products from their headquarters in SS2, Petaling Jaya to all of their outlets.<\/p>\n

And with diesel prices now at RM5.97 per litre, Yee and his partners have to come up with another formula to keep their operations running.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, hiking up the price is very easy, everyone can do that but for us, we are trying to tackle it differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will try to absorb as much as we can and try to save as much internally first because external wise, we can\u2019t do anything anymore \u2014\u00a0we can\u2019t fly to the US and say \u2018Hey, stop it\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut internally, we can still try to reduce whatever costs that we are able to,\u201d Yee told Malay Mail.<\/p>\n

Amongst the steps being taken by Dking is a more strategic approach to workforce planning and recruitment while also optimising their internal budget by taking one-per cent off across their departments.<\/p>\n

They also have to reschedule their company engagement activities such as annual trips and employee gatherings to ensure better allocation of resources for the time being.<\/p>\n

\u201cImportantly, any savings or efficiencies gained are being reinvested into employee development, including training and upskilling programs to strengthen our team for long-term growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Aside from that, Dking is also preparing for a stronger durian season as durian orchards in Penang are fruiting earlier than expected this year due to the hot and dry weather and a forecast of a possible surplus in the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

\u201cDking is proactively preparing for increased supply nationwide, which we believe will lead to more competitive pricing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis presents an opportunity for us to deliver greater value to customers while keeping the market dynamic and accessible,\u201d Yee said.<\/p>\n

Off the menu… for now<\/p>\n

\"Gringo\u2019s<\/p>\n

Gringo\u2019s managing partner Azhan Benny Foo (far right) with Arsenal Malaysia\u2019s committee members at Gringo\u2019s. \u2014 Picture courtesy of Gringo\u2019s<\/p>\n

Gringo\u2019s managing partner Azhan Benny Foo (far right) with Arsenal Malaysia\u2019s committee members at Gringo\u2019s. \u2014 Picture courtesy of Gringo\u2019s<\/p>\n

Local restaurant and bar Gringo\u2019s which specialises in Texas-Mexican (Tex-Mex) cuisine opened their first brick and mortar shop in Taman Tun Dr Ismail back in 2022 after years of operating out of a food truck.<\/p>\n

The restaurant also acts as one of the home bases for Arsenal Malaysia, a local fan base for the English Premier League giant, where they regularly host \u201clive\u201d viewing of football matches involving Arsenal and also when it comes to matches involving local football club, KL City FC.<\/p>\n

Gringo\u2019s managing partner Azhan Benny Foo or Ben, 43, has begun removing beef tenderloin items from their menu for the time being in response to the global energy crisis.<\/p>\n

Popular beef-based dishes like Fajitas, Burritos, and Quesadillas are being phased out due to a 53 per cent spike in imported beef prices, which rose from RM25 to nearly RM40 per kilogramme recently.<\/p>\n

With almost 80 per cent of their ingredients being imported, Ben said that they are also experiencing price hikes on other ingredients as well, including for cheese.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen prices started spiking up, we had no choice but to talk to other suppliers who could provide us with cheese brands that have similar taste and cheaper prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we are not fully substituting our previous brands with the cheaper ones \u2014\u00a0we would still get the original but now we have to combine it with the other brand in order to keep that same taste.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to kind of reverse engineer the cheese so that the quality and taste can still be maintained,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

Despite Gringo\u2019s reputation for hosting lively football screenings, weekday footfall remains a challenge.<\/p>\n

To combat this, the business has diversified its revenue streams by expanding into catering and deploying its food truck more frequently.<\/p>\n

While a busier food truck typically means higher fuel expenses, Gringo\u2019s secured a vital lifeline after realising that they are eligible for the government\u2019s Subsidised Diesel Control Scheme (SKDS), which allows them to fuel up at the subsidised rate of RM2.15 per litre.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously when SKDS was announced, we didn\u2019t bother to find out about it until recently when diesel prices kept spiking up to over RM6 at one point.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we decided to go to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living website and applied and it was approved but we are only able to use it in May \u2014\u00a0this one is on us because we were oblivious to the SKDS when it first rolled out a couple years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully by next month we will be able to enjoy the RM2.15 subsidised price, this will help a lot,\u201d Ben said, adding that they too are currently opting not to raise their prices for the time being.<\/p>\n

Ramping up production<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, local boutique Caftanist known for their wide array of Baju Raya designs is also feeling the ripple effect of the Middle East conflict despite not experiencing any direct price hikes on their materials.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to their CEO, Fawwaz H, 34, they are experiencing shipping delays on some of their materials which they outsource from abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor items such as our packaging boxes \u2014\u00a0previously it usually took around two to three weeks for them to arrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now, some of them would take up to a month to arrive while some didn\u2019t even arrive after two months and I foresee that it will get worse in the coming months,\u201d Fawwaz said, adding that the shipping frequency of these items is also getting worse these days.<\/p>\n

Although they had a relatively good Hari Raya season this year with sales going up by 50 per cent, the prolonged energy crisis coupled with the growing fierce competition in the local market this year has left them opting to expand their output by producing more premium items.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually we are quite conservative especially during off season or post-Raya season where we would only release several designs for our casual outfits just to fill in the gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut with the current situation now, we are going to have to be more aggressive in terms of our product expansion by producing more high-end and premium quality products,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Caftanist started as a niche online store in 2015, founded by Fawwaz and his wife Adlina Arrif and they have been steadily growing over the years with them now having two physical stores, one in Kelana Jaya and another in Johor Bahru.<\/p>\n

The local modest wear brand which features contemporary and traditional inspired clothing has also achieved a new milestone after being given their own section at Japanese department store Isetan in KLCC in December 2024.<\/p>\n

Even though they have not experienced any price hikes for now, Fawwaz is still expecting some of their material prices to go up in the near future due to transportation costs.<\/p>\n

Same price despite less profit<\/p>\n

\"Adi<\/p>\n

Adi Ibra Ruzali, the current owner of Murtabak Acuan Azam, at the stall in Rembau\u2019s Pasar Tani. \u2014 Picture by Arif Zikri<\/p>\n

Adi Ibra Ruzali, the current owner of Murtabak Acuan Azam, at the stall in Rembau\u2019s Pasar Tani. \u2014 Picture by Arif Zikri<\/p>\n

Adi Ibra Ruzali, 49, who is now handling the operations of his late brother\u2019s Murtabak Acuan Azam stall in Negeri Sembilan, is adamant on keeping the price of their fluffy Murtabak and Roti John between RM6 to RM8 despite facing higher cost of operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we are experiencing price hikes on several of our ingredients and materials at the moment but some are still the same price.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most obvious for me was the price of plastic and packaging where previously I would only spend around RM25 but now it is close to RM30 already.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor now, we can still manage to absorb the extra costs because we understand that times are tough and people need the money to spend on other essential items, so we try to help with what we could,\u201d Adi said.<\/p>\n

Now in its 28th year, Murtabak Acuan Azam operates a weekend stall at Rembau\u2019s Pasar Tani and a weekday kiosk in Tampin.<\/p>\n

Unlike other vendors who serve Murtabak and Roti John in the evenings, Adi has uniquely specialised in offering these dishes as a breakfast staple for many years now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe initially started our business in KL but after the 1997 Asia Economy Crisis, we decided to move back to our hometown and operate from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreviously we would also open our stall at Seksyen 13 Shah Alam once a week, and even then we were already selling Murtabak and Roti John for breakfast,\u201d he said, adding that they have since stopped operating in Shah Alam after acquiring their kiosk a few years back.<\/p>\n

Adi who previously went viral on social media in 2024 for his fluffy and perfectly symmetrical murtabak also pointed out that another reason for him not hiking up his prices was because he does not wish to disrupt his flow of customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a challenge we have to face, but my hope is that when fuel prices eventually stabilise or drop, those who hiked their prices will have the integrity to lower them again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often see vendors quickly raising prices when fuel goes up, but those prices rarely come back down when the market cools.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I\u2019m willing to absorb the losses for now \u2014\u00a0as long as people can still afford to enjoy my Murtabak and Roti John, that\u2019s what matters most to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 \u2014\u00a0Local businesses are already feeling the adverse effects of the global energy crisis caused…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3361,64,63,304277,99,260914,304275,164,259235,9004,275212,304276,60007,304278],"class_list":{"0":"post-627674","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-arsenal","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-azhan-benny-foo","12":"tag-business","13":"tag-diesel-prices","14":"tag-dking","15":"tag-economy","16":"tag-energy-crisis","17":"tag-english-premier-league","18":"tag-global-energy-crisis","19":"tag-leron-yee","20":"tag-local-businesses","21":"tag-taman-tun-dr-ismail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}