Yayasan Madani clarifies that Madani Mart is not a rebranding of KR1M, operates without government funding, and is fully owned by private entrepreneurs.
KUALA LUMPUR: Yayasan Madani has clarified that the newly launched Madani Mart initiative is not a rebranding of the previous Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) programme.
The foundation’s manager for Madani Mart operations, Lutfi Mohd Ariffin, stated that the venture does not involve any provision of start-up capital or operational costs from the government.
He explained that Madani Mart operates on a public-private-social partnership model, functioning through a licensing system where Yayasan Madani acts as the licensor for the branding and business model registered with MyIPO.
“Each outlet is fully owned and operated by entrepreneurs under their respective business entities,” Lutfi said in a statement.
He described claims that Madani Mart is government-funded, owned by certain parties, or has hidden interests as baseless and unsupported by facts.
Lutfi emphasised that the Yayasan Madani Board of Trustees ensures the organisation’s direction and compliance, with board members having no personal interest in the business operations.
“Yayasan Madani only holds the rights to the branding, copyright, concept and business model, while ownership of the outlets rests entirely with the entrepreneurs,” he added.
He noted that Madani Mart operates in an open competitive environment without any monopoly in supplier or operator appointments, with selection based on commercial capability and operational efficiency.
The foundation is currently reviewing applications from existing retail businesses to join the network through an onboarding process open to individuals, partnerships, and community entities like cooperatives.
“Yayasan Madani welcomes the participation of more local entrepreneurs as licence holders and business owners,” Lutfi said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim officiated the launch of the first Madani Mart outlet in Pahang last Friday as part of government efforts to ease the cost of living.
The initiative aims to open at least 640 outlets nationwide, with the goal of ensuring each state constituency has at least one outlet.
