Empowering consumers in controlling the cost of living
PEOPLE have the misconception that the government is the decision-maker when in fact consumers hold the key.
According to Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh, consumers are the ones who make decisions and can influence others.
“Consumers can be game changers. They have the power to decide if a product stays in the market, but they do not realise they have that power,” she said on TV Al Hijrah’s programme Analisis on Sept 11.
“Hence, we must empower consumers. It is a long process but we need to educate consumers about their rights,” said Fuziah in the discussion titled Sara Hidup: Harga Naik, Sampai Bila? which also featured Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Faculty of Economics and Management senior lecturer Dr Mustazar Mansur – both were invited to share their thoughts on the rising cost of living.
Fuziah shared that Malaysia’s inflation rate eased to 2% in July 2023, down from 2.4% the month before.
“Inflation is a global issue. Problems arise when people are unable to cope with it, especially post-pandemic, like when companies go out of business.
“We need a two-prong strategy. One is to increase the income and salaries of Malaysians but that is a long-term solution, the other is to keep the cost down,” she said.
The role of KPDN
The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) has three main roles, said Fuziah:
> Develop a viable, competitive and sustainable domestic economy that is relevant to distributive traders such as wholesalers, retailers, franchise practitioners, direct sellers, and suppliers.
> Advocate consumer rights and protect the interest and rights of consumers.
> Its enforcement division monitors and ensures that there is no price manipulation.
And now the ministry has a new role which is to deal with issues regarding the cost of living.
Dr Mustazar said consumers need to do their part in monitoring the prices of goods.
“If you notice any price gouging, quickly report to the authorities. These days, virality is power,” he said.
Price control and subsidies
“Even though we have an open market economy, we exercise price control for certain items while some controlled items are subsidised,” replied Fuziah to a question by a consumer on government initiatives to control the price of goods, in particular basic necessities such as rice, cooking oil and sugar, and how the government ensures that supply is sufficient.
“Locally grown rice is capped at RM2.60 per kg despite the price hike of imported rice.
“The ceiling price for eggs are 45sen for Grade A , 43sen for Grade B, and 41sen for Grade C. Furthermore, the subsidy for eggs is 10sen each.
“We also have a ceiling price for chicken and we subsidise liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),” she said.
The ceiling price for coarse sugar, also known as gula rakyat, is RM2.85 per kg
“The government had instructed MSM and CSR to produce sugar at the current quantity of 42,000 tonnes per month to meet the needs of the people,” she said.
According to Fuziah, under the Cooking Oil Price Stabilisation Scheme (COSS), the government has appointed 366 packaging companies throughout the country to supply 60,000 tonnes or about 60 million packets of (1kg) subsidised cooking oil at a price of RM2.50 per packet.
COSS is a cooking oil subsidy programme aimed at alleviating consumers’ cost of living.
Also, the ceiling retail price for the 5kg bottled cooking oil is RM30.90.
“Previously we only took into account household or domestic need for cooking oil, but we realised that micro traders are also in need of subsidised cooking oil,” said Fuziah.
“Hence, we will take that into account and when the data is completed, we will have a mechanism whereby B40 and M40 groups, and micro traders will be eligible for cooking oil subsidies.”
Also on the topic of subsidy, Fuziah mentioned the ministry’s pilot project to set up two non-subsidised petrol stations in Perlis.
Commercial prices for unsubsidised RON95 and diesel sold are at RM3.05 and RM3 per litre.
“We found that within two months the sales for unsubsidised fuel increased. This means the government benefitted in subsidy savings amounting to RM5.7mil. We will continue this model at the borders,” she said.
Government initiatives
The government has launched many initiatives to address rising living costs such as the Rahmah Sales and Buy Malaysian Products campaign.
“During the Rahmah Sales, chicken was sold at RM10 each and many consumers would flock to buy, and in the end the supermarkets also reduced their prices,” Fuziah said.
Dr Mustazar lauded the Jualan Rahmah Bergerak (Mobile Rahmah Sales) and urged for the continuation of this initiative that was implemented with the cooperation of several key players such as MYGrocer and the Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation (PKPS).
“We have to ensure that B40 and M40 groups can get their basic necessities direct from the source,” he said.
“For example, at pasar tani, we must make sure that the price is not controlled by the middle man. We cannot cut out the middle-man completely but make sure there is no big cartel controlling the price,” he said.
He called for cooperation between federal, state, and local government and government agencies on monitoring the price of goods.
Fuziah responded that the National Action Council on Cost of Living (NACCOL) can play a role in this matter as the council has representation from 10 ministries.
“Initially, NACCOL was a secretariat to develop and implement policies and action plans on cost of living issues in Malaysia.
“But now the council can play a greater role with the involvement of the relevant ministries.
“For example, there was a cooking oil price hike in 2020 due to the rise of crude palm oil (CPO) prices.
“We are now looking at implementing a two-tier pricing mechanism for export and domestic consumption,” she said.
To report regulatory breaches by traders to KPDN, go to eaduan.kpdn.gov.my
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