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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Price Reduction Campaign – A Success?/ 削价运动成功了吗?

I’m quite amazed by the Minister of Trade and Consumer Affairs saying that the price reduction campaign has been a success. I wonder on what basis the Minister makes such a conclusion.

Any man in the street will tell you that the price of a lot of basic necessities and products in hawker stalls, restaurants and sundry shops remain the same. There may be a reduction in selective items or products, but generally, people will agree that prices have gone up for most goods.

When the price gone up dramatically last year, a lot of food outlet increases food price by 10 – 15%, citing the increase in oil price, electricity tariff and gas as justification for the increase in the prices. Since then, prices of oil have dropped equally dramatically. Anyone can tell you that prices in food outlet and all daily necessities have not gone down.

When I first came to Kuala Lumpur in 2004, the typical char kuey teow or prawn mee was only RM3.00. Today, it is RM3.80 – RM4.00. This means that there is an increase of 25 – 30 percent. For an average worker, one can safely assume that the income has not been able to cope up with the increase of food, not to even mention about the basic necessities and the comfort of life.

In time to come, hawker food will not be regarded as inexpensive. In view of the shortage of foreign workers and food outlets are very dependent on foreign workers, maybe we should practice what has been practiced in European cities. In Europe, the packed food for take away is even cheaper than eating within the premise. Maybe every food outlet should be looking at this alternative.

We should also relook at the calculation for inflation index in Malaysia. Food, transportation and house rental as basket of price should be reviewed. Otherwise, our inflation figure can be misleading.

The latest figure shows that inflation now is 3.9% last month compared to 9% in July last year.

This inflation figure does not reflect the reality on the ground. With savings interest in the bank at 2.5% and the inflation figure 3.9%, it is negative return if a person put his money in the bank. The worst hit are pensioners depending on savings since it will be negative return.


我很惊讶国内贸易与消费人事务部长认为削价运动已取得成功,我想问部长的这项结论有何根据?

走在街上,任何一人都会告诉你,无论是在小贩摊档、餐馆或杂货店里售卖的必需品,价格仍然有起无落。也许一些物价格确实已下调,但绝大部分的物品价格仍高居不下。去年,继石油、天然气何电费调涨后,市面上的物价水涨船高,食品价格涨幅10%至15%。之后,虽然汽油价格获得调降,却不见商家下调食品及必需品价格。

2004年我首次来吉隆坡, 当时一碟炒粿条或一碗虾面只卖3令吉;今天已涨至3令吉80仙至4令吉,平均涨幅25至30%。一名普通职员的收入已无法承担食品起价的速度,更庸说其他的生活必需品及开销。

今后,小贩中心的食物已不再便宜。由于大量依赖外劳的饮食业面对外劳短缺,或许我们应该向欧洲一些城市看齐,推行外卖打折的做法。

我们也应该检讨马来西亚通货膨胀指数的估算方法,同时检讨食物、交通及屋租等一揽子物价。否则,我们的通膨指数或与实况有出入,甚至误导大家。最新数据显示,我国上个月的通膨率是3.9%,去年7月则是9%。这个数据根本无法反映实况。目前银行的储蓄利息是2.5%, 通膨指数为3.9%,把钱存入银行等于负数回酬。如此以来,那些依赖储蓄生活的退休人士将首当其冲。

因此,当局必须检讨以上数据,让消费者知道国家的经济实况,以正确规划个人和家庭收支。

8 comments:

NEIL said...

Dr, This is what happens when we leave our country to inexperience statesman.They not only talk crap but know nuts.They are directionless so whenever they open their mouth they talk crap.
Since Racist mahathir left the scene,I haven't heard any top leadership talk sense.I can say wholeheartly that if they don't train useful youngster to be leader this country, sooner or later this country will be in shit.

Vince said...

Dr Chua,
Let us tell you.....
"Bullshit! Price of necessity have not gone down....
Example: Kopi Ais is RM 1.40 when the petrol is sky high... right now it is still RM 1.40, it did not go down to RM 1.10.
Can our government do anything about this? Of course the answer is you are the consumer don't drink la... change you life style.
Electricity and Water charges also did not go down.... So please do not waste our time, cari makan is so hard now. How can the gov help us?

Unknown said...

for those in power with d corrupted regime racist umno, for them it's definitely felt that d consumers prices has gone down bcos their income fr their 'korek korek korek mission' has very much increase !
ur MCA bos OTK oso never complain that consumers prices is high !
OTK oso never complain ISA got to abolish/review anymore !
OTK will talk abt abolish ISA & anti corruption in next MCA election !
hahaha.....

elizabeth said...

Prices have definitely not come down... For me, there is not much we can do, except that we stop patronising outlets where their prices are not reasonable. Dont just stop going there, but tell them our displeasure with their high prices, so they wont be in the dark when customers stop coming by. By depriving them of business is one effective way to send our message to them. Back to the minister who tells us that the price reduction campaign is a success? Well, he has to say that I suppose, since he was the very person who brought this misery on all Malaysians. Yet another example of BN govt assuming we rakyat to be fools... sad.

stingray said...

Dr,
The ministry of domestic trade is sleeping.they are doing practically nothing about the increase in price.While food prices have gone up, our salary have never increase and our ringgit have devalue.Where is our damn country heading to.

Mike said...

Is it sad but true that the government has lost touch with the average working Malaysian.

Many of us have learnt to cope with problems on our own and fight for survival on month to month and some even on day to day basis. Who with the right mind would even trust or bother with the public statistic, inflation rate at 3% kind of rubbish.

You see in this new mini budget, we tax payer will be forking out millions of precious dollars to subsidze for or the continual training of the so called unemployed graduates at Rm1,000 a month for at least 8 months with course work and housing etc. Why our universities continue to produce thousand of unemployable graduates? Something is definitely wrong with our higher education system and we have two MCA ministers in both the higher and lower education ministries. What have MCA find out and any way to overcome these continual pest and pain? Why penalize us tax payer for a failed higher education system.

Further the MCA youth wing WKS now a day was making hell lot of noise on the higher levy on foreign workers.

Hello, I thought the Deputy Finance Minister is a MCA. What is he doing, sleeping or dream working?

You see most of us look at MCA now a day as a joke of the town. MCA promise to go into the government and change from within. But from these actions it look like MCA is trying to change form outside then what the hell we vote MCA into the government.

Just stop and ponder on this for a moment.

Pearls said...

Eh, who is the govt trying to bluff? Prices of goods have not reduced 5 cents pun!! Eh, all these inflation rates announced by our government is a DREAM!! These people in Bank Negara and god knows what else that is sitting down calculating such things are obviously doing it with their fingers and toes!!! WHERE GOT SO LOW INFLATION RATE?!

The electricity tariff is the worse! At the peak of petrol price, TNB say they need to revised because they are using petrol to generate electricity.. NOW!? nah!! petrol price plunge already la... what happened? go up that double digit percent, come down that single digit! Some more, now TNB say they use coal to generate electricity and therefore cannot reduce so much! NIAMAH!! think we are what?? Flies with no brains issit? Cannot remember what they have said issit? FEDUP!!

Dont even talk about food prices la! I prowl the supermarkets almost everyday because I love doing just that no matter where I am!! And I can tell you, prices have gone up more after CNY!! A 250gm cream cheese was RM9.75-RM9.90 before CNY but right after CNY, it is now selling at RM11.00!! Local products like watermellon, soap powder, dish washing liquid, vegetables have also gone up!! I know because I buy them.

So, what has gone down? Maybe the minister's head has gone down ler..

Unknown said...

why dont the ministry list down the price of those common item (i.e kopi ais, roti canai, wan tan mee...)for various location and update the price from time to time, these are not control items so it can reflect the "price reduction campaign" in a KPI method. Just look at the statistic needless to say more

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