KOTA KINABALU: The Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (Bopim) strongly takes exception to the remarks made by Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Datuk Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah on Friday in which he said certain parties have been fanning the people’s sentiments about the possible increase in electricity tariffs and toll charges.
Bopim’s President, Daniel John Jambun, said in a statement here that it is ridiculous for Ahmad Bashah to allude to the opposition and NGOs being the parties fanning sentiments when in fact it is the government which had been cutting subsidies and causing dramatic hikes in prices.
“Such action is seen as taking advantage of the situation for political mileage,” Ahmad Bashah told reporters after opening the Kelantan Hawkers and Petty Traders Carnival 2013 in Kota Baharu on Friday. He also claimed that apart from the hike in sugar price, there was no report of hikes in the prices of other goods.
“Obviously the government is trying to deny the widespread inflation involving essential goods as well as food and beverages in restaurants. Compared to last year’s prices, the prices of goods in Sabah can be seen to have increased by considerable percentages,” Jambun said. “Even simple villagers can testify to this. The government is also trying hard to hide its own failings and weaknesses by blaming those fighting for the rights of consumers. The BN leaders are now into finger pointing to try to divert the attention of the consumers whose anxiety has reached a high level of worry and, in certain cases, fright. This is seen in the plummeting of the Prime Minister’s popularity among Malaysians, from 62% to 52%.”
Jambun also questioned the role of Ahmad Bashah’s ministry, among which is to supposedly fight for consumerism, asking whether the ministry is actually in the business of protecting consumer rights or in the business of forever justifying inflation and assuring consumers that everything was alright every time there is a dramatic rise in prices.
“The government should know that the people are fully aware of the serious shortage of cash in national coffers,” he claimed. “It is a worrying situation which has forced the government to resort to all sorts of ways to raise cash, including cutting subsidies, introducing the GST, increasing toll rates and taxing savings withdrawals.
“We also know that the main cause of this shortage is corruption, which is the main cause of huge capital flight out of Malaysia,” he added. “The sad part of the whole web of abuses is that it is the people who have to suffer.”