Action committee to deal with rising cost of living

At the dewan rakyat
Reports by MARTIN CARVALHO, HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM, RAHIMY RAHIM and LOSHANA K SHAGAR

The Cabinet committee to address the rising cost of living has been upgraded to an action committee, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“The committee will appoint se­­veral figures from the local universities and organisations to give their views on various aspects and to help draft long-term schemes and policies for the Government,” Dr Ahmad Zahid told reporters after chairing the committee’s inaugural meeting in Parliament.

He said that medical cost will be added to the current five clusters – transportation, housing, education, utilities and food – to tackle the rising cost of living.

Asked if the committee would be announcing any new initiatives to tackle the rising cost of living before the general election, Dr Ahmad Zahid said the effort to alleviate the rakyat’s burden was not linked to the polls.

“This is not about the general election but concerns the problems faced by the rakyat,” he said.