Call for setting up of special committee to monitor price

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association has called for the setting up of a special committee to check on traders against indiscriminate price hike.

Its vice-president, Siti Rahayu Zakaria said it was high time for the committee to be set up to coordinate policies and programmes by the various ministries and agencies against unscrupulous trading.

She said FOMCA had submitted a proposal on the matter to the government last February following the increasing complaints on price hike.

"We do not want consumers to continue to be victimised by traders in this situation of economic uncertainty and rising cost of living," she told Bernama.

She said traders would normally use shortage of stock as an excuse to hike price of their goods.

They would also increase price whenever the government announced bonus, as well as salary and allowance increase for civil servants, she added.

Meanwhile, an economist, Prof Dr Barjoyai Bardai welcomed the proposed setting up of the committee to protect consumers, as well as to facilitate enforcement by the authorities against unscrupulous traders.

However, he said, consumers, too, should play their role by providing information to the authorities on traders who hiked prices indiscriminately.

A member of the Economic and Management Cluster of the National Council of Professors, Prof Dr Samsinar Md Sidin said consumers should be wise in their spending by comparing prices before buying the goods.

Dr Samsinar is also Universiti Tun Abdul Razak's deputy vice-chancellor (Academic and Student affairs).