(Kuala Lumpur, 25th) A full-time photographer lamented that after Malaysia and China implemented mutual visa exemptions, many Chinese photography teams began flying directly to Malaysia to take on jobs, offering services that are “cheap, fast, and visually stunning,” which has effectively squeezed the competitive space for local photographers.

This photographer submitted his complaint to host Xiao Ma’s segment “Bosses’ Untold Stories on Social Media”, saying that he has been working as a full-time photographer for nine years. In the past, business was so good that his schedule was fully booked for months without a single day off, but now he has to wait three weeks to secure one job.

He explained that this change is not due to a declining economy but a shift in the market. Since the Malaysia-China mutual visa exemption came into effect, Chinese photography teams have been coming to Malaysia to take on jobs. These teams are fast, their prices are low, and they offer comprehensive packages that include two outfits, makeup and hairstyling, photo editing, venue rental, and sometimes even short videos—all for just RM299.

“RM299? I can’t even cover my costs at that price. But I know they make their money from the additional photo selections later, charging RM300 per photo, which ultimately adds up to thousands of ringgit,” he said.

He added that Chinese photographers are not only stealing business but also offering high pay to lure away freelance makeup artists, and they rent local studios more frequently than Malaysian photographers do.

“We simply can’t compete with this kind of scale. It’s not that I’m unwilling to improve—I’ve updated my equipment, I can edit videos, and I’ve tried different shooting styles. But as local photographers, we have to rent studios, hire staff, handle logistics, cover our own transportation, and pay numerous taxes… How am I supposed to compete with RM299?”

He admitted that seeing peers leave the industry one after another makes him wonder how much longer this generation of photographers can hold on. What angers him most is the government’s silence on the issue.

“Foreign teams are coming in and taking over the market. We’re not saying there shouldn’t be competition, but at least there should be a fair playing field. You ask us to go digital, to embrace creative transformation—we’ve tried it all. But in the end, it’s us locals who are struggling and failing. That time when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited, it caused a massive traffic jam, and my scheduled shoot got canceled as a result.”

He hopes Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will act before local SMEs are completely wiped out, instead of saying “we’ll support SMEs” when it’s already too late. “We won’t survive until then,” he warned.

my question is, why the Chinese photographer can come out to our market and flood the market with cheap price, but we don't know how to do the same by going to other cheaper market and flood them instead? why are we so fixated to stuck here and don't know how to do the same and compete instead?

my question is, why the Chinese photographer can come out to our market and flood the market with cheap price, but we don't know how to do the same by going to other cheaper market and flood them instead? why are we so fixated to stuck here and don't know how to do the same and compete instead?