GLOBAL conflicts and supply disruptions may be beyond the control of ordinary Malaysians, but there are still practical steps they can take to reduce the impact on their household finances, say experts.
But first, they stress, avoid panic buying.
Sunway University economics professor Dr Yeah Kim Leng agrees that there is no need for hoarding, as the country’s supply chains are relatively more resilient than many countries in our region.
“The objective is not panic, but prudence,” says Centre for Market Education chief executive officer Carmelo Ferlito.
For households, prudence may mean consolidating errands, cutting unnecessary trips, comparing prices more carefully and avoiding excessive debt.
Yeah says consumers can also reduce fuel usage through measures such as carpooling, using public transport and switching to cheaper alternatives where available.
“Cutting consumption is obviously the key demand-side response to cope with supply shortages, especially when substitutes are unavailable.”
South-East Asian Futures Initiative Centre senior analyst Dr Mikhail Rosli also suggests households consider diversifying their food choices.
“A lot of the Gulf exposure will affect things like chicken and red meat.
“Households can probably start thinking about what kind of fish they like or what kind of plant protein they might want to supplement their meals with.”
Buy local?
Some countries have gone down the route of promoting local alternatives to meet the cost and supply challenge.
Similarly, Malaysia’s Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry is promoting the Kempen Beli Barangan Malaysia (Buy Malay-sian Goods Campaign), also known as Jom Beli Lokal, encouraging households to support local producers, especially in these trying times.
The initiative has been visible across retail outlets and e-commerce platforms, with reported sales in the hundreds of millions of ringgit, underscoring its role in sustaining micro and small enterprises.
Mikhail notes that buying local can help cushion the blow, offering a way for communities to collectively strengthen domestic demand. Still, he stresses it should not be relied on as the main response to the crisis, since Malaysia remains tied into global supply chains for essentials like fuel and machinery.
“I think buying local can matter. But I’ll put a caveat that it can matter at the margins rather than as a strategic response to this crisis. Buying local can work for a lot of supply chains that are completely domestic.
“For example, in a country, you might imagine that ayam kampung would have chicken feed that is grown domestically. You might have local fish that are grown domestically. All of the supply chain is domestic.
“So that’s a great example. Buying local can work. But I would still consider it at the margin rather than as a strategic response to our situation right now,” he tells Sunday Star.
Delving further, Mikhail says the country should focus on domesticating such supply chains over the long term.
“The current challenge right now is that a lot of chicken feed – such as soy and corn – does not grow naturally in Malaysia. Perhaps there could be research into finding new ways to feed chickens or support domestic livestock.”
Fomca’s Indrani says traditional measures such as “buying local” or cutting discretionary expenditure are no longer optional ecofriendly or patriotic catchphrases; they are strict economic survival imperatives.
“Given that Malaysian workers receive a stagnant and significantly smaller share of national income than in advanced peer economies, ordinary families are already pinching pennies just to cover basic monthly expenditures and meet baseline nutritional needs.
“The data proves that expenditure pruning is a mathematical necessity. Because fuel acts as a universal multiplier for all downstream retail products, immediate budget restructuring is the only mechanism available to ordinary citizens to maintain household solvency.”
She adds that a strategic, “clear-headed division” must be established to manage consumer expectations and drive local industrial policy realignment.
Indrani points out that consumers can immediately shift their consumption patterns to local poultry, aquaculture, and seasonal domestic agricultural produce.
“This bypasses vulnerabilities in international freight and strengthens domestic farming ecosystems. In addition, shift from imported wheat-based products to locally milled rice and rice-based derivatives.”
Bigger than consumers
Yet experts caution that individual and local adjustments can only go so far.
Centre for Market Education’s Ferlito says that while buying local may reduce some transport exposure, local production still relies on fuel, imported machinery, feed, packaging, fertilisers and logistics – factors beyond the average consumer’s control.
“The danger is that governments may shift responsibility to consumers while avoiding the harder reforms,” he says.
Mikhail agrees, stressing that this is not a problem households can fix.
Indrani also says many lower- and middle-income households have little room left to absorb further increases in living costs, as most of their spending already goes towards essentials such as housing, transport, education, and food.
“Belt-tightening assumes the presence of discretionary expenditure that can be trimmed during lean times.
“However, low- and middle-income budgets are currently consumed entirely by inelastic obligations,” she says.
