Urgent need for price control

THE skyrocketing prices of essential goods is a cause for alarm and affect Malaysians from almost every socio-economic group.

Unless you have just returned from a trip to the moon, you would have realised that almost all types of goods – from your teh tarik at the kopitiam to vegetables at the market – have increased in price over the last few months.

A tough economy hasn’t helped. And the pandemic has also exacerbated supply chain and logistical issues while higher transportation costs have compounded the situation, leading to a spike in prices.

I took the liberty of doing a dipstick survey at the Port Klang market, a location with which I am familiar.

In general, I found that the price of every single vegetable had increased, some by 100% over the last two to three months.

Some notable examples are coriander, which was RM16 per kg to RM40 currently. Mustard greens from RM3.50 to RM7, ladies’ finger from RM6 to RM12 and lettuce from RM5 to RM10.

“Prices of essentials, including fresh meat and vegetables, have gone up by 30% over the last six months,” an acquaintance who provides food to orphanages complained.

“A few of us used to pool our resources and spend about RM350 every month for each orphanage. Our monthly marketing has now increased to roughly RM500,” lamented the Good Samaritan.

These price hikes affect Malaysians from all walks of life. Fortunately, my acquaintance and his friends can absorb the additional cost. The same can’t be said for Malaysia’s B40 group, an estimated 40% of our population that is struggling with the skyrocketing prices of essential goods.

The need for government intervention to address this issue is imperative. At the time of writing, the National Action Council on the Cost of Living was set to hold a meeting yesterday on the situation and decide on medium- and long-term plans to address it.

Among the matters that would be discussed was the country’s dependence on imports, input cost for foods, the issue of foreign workers, subsidy schemes, grants, and loans available besides agricultural technology as well as research and development.

The Malaysian Family Sale, announced by the Prime Minister last week, will be held at 222 parliamentary constituencies twice a month until February. While this can help alleviate the burden of the B40 group, it should only be viewed as a stopgap measure.

This fortnightly sale aims to keep the prices of necessities affordable for consumers. In theory, these prices will be 15% to 20% lower than market rates.

Cooperation between government agencies and departments can ensure that the sales of these basic necessities reach households affected by the price increases.

But beyond these government-sponsored sale, there is now an urgent need for price controls.

The authorities should also consider ceiling prices for certain essential items until the situation is brought under control.

In some circumstances, price increases can be justified by the aforementioned supply chain issues, but there are also instances of unabashed profiteering by unscrupulous sellers.

In the last couple of months, social media has been rife with examples of exorbitant charges, from RM100 fried squid served to a customer in Penang to a RM1,000 bill for a siakap fish dish (barramundi) at a Langkawi restaurant.

The Sunday Star recently reported that the price of food and drinks was the number one sore point for consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is no surprise to learn that the number of consumer complaints involving the price of food, drinks and controlled items spiked by 22.5% last year compared with 2019, according to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

Such complaints were channelled to the ministry and comprise all categories of food and beverages, ranging from prepared and cooked food in restaurants to food products sold in stores and supermarkets.

This is where frequent enforcement is crucial, not only to check unjustified price increases but also to punish and deter profiteers and errant traders.

It was earlier announced that the Keluarga Malaysia Maximum Price Control Scheme will take effect from now till Dec 31 throughout the country as part of the government’s efforts to stabilise the price of necessities and ensure adequate supply in the market.

The items listed under the scheme include live chicken, standard chicken, super chicken, Grade A, B and C eggs, long beans, red chilli, tomato, choy sum, imported round cabbage (from Indonesia and China) as well as cucumber.

Hopefully, with the implementation of the scheme, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s enforcement division would step up monitoring and checks to ensure compliance.

Some 2,200 enforcement officers and 1,000 price monitoring officers are expected to be deployed throughout the country for this purpose.