KUALA LUMPUR – Four civil rights non-governmental organisations have urged opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to bring up the problem of rampaging price hikes of essential goods in Parliament as soon as possible.
Otai Reformis 1998 and three other groups – Gabungan Bertindak Memorandum Rakyat Malaysia (GBMRM), Jingga 13, and GERAK 98 – today presented a memorandum to the PKR president, following the recent surge in prices across the country.
Otai Reformis secretary Abdul Razak Ismail said they are determined to speak up on the pressing issue and protect the rights of consumers. He stressed that they are not using the situation as political capital to attack the government.
“Please don’t use this as an opportunity to say that we are trying to go against the government,” he said.
“We are just trying to defend our rights as consumers.
“Therefore, we ask Anwar today to call for a special session in the august House specifically to discuss this matter,” he said after handing the memorandum to Anwar outside the Parliament complex this morning.
Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman and Port Dickson MP, has slammed the government for not making progress in curbing the meteoric increase in prices.
“The government has been handling this issue at a very slow rate,” he said.
“As I have mentioned before, this issue has burdened the people. Prices of basic necessities are soaring at an unreasonable rate, but there has been no increase in salaries and allowances.
“I urge the government to take action as soon as possible.”
Also present was GBMRM president Mustapa Mansor, who echoed Razak’s sentiments, urging the government to take the people’s plight seriously and immediately stem the problem.
“We hope that this memorandum can be debated extensively in Parliament,” he said.
“We are all here for an important issue that we wish to relay to the public.
“Your rights as Malaysians must be prioritised. Hence, we must ensure prices of essential goods do not hike up anymore – unless the government is willing to increase wages.”
Over the past week, basic necessities such as vegetables and other groceries have seen a staggering rise in prices.
In Penang, vegetable prices have surged up by 100%, based on monitoring by the state Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry’s office.
“Among the vegetables selling with a price increase of between 4% and 100% are beans, kailan, cauliflower, mustard, round cabbage, and round eggplant,” said Mohd Ridzuan Ab Ghapar, state director of the ministry. – The Vibes, December 2, 2021
