THE price of rice and other essentials in remote areas of Sarawak can cost up to more than 100 per cent of the price of the same items in cities and towns in the state.
In the interior of Belaga district in central Sarawak, a bag of 10kg rice can cost a shocking RM 60, which is double the price of the same brand sold in towns, said Belaga social activist Harry Wing.
He said that this is the situation in populated localities like Lusong Laku and Murum which are some eight hours by road from Belaga town.
"The people of remote Belaga have no choice but to buy foodstuff at these very expensive prices.
"Traders charge these prices because they include transportation costs.
"All essential foods like rice, sugar, flour, noodles, biscuits, and salt are sold at these very high prices in remote regions," he said.
Wing said the Government has a scheme to pay transporters to send food items to rural settlements to subsidise the cost, but many remote localities still do not benefit from the scheme.
"If the Government wants to stabilise prices of goods in Sarawak, they must look at the problems in rural Sarawak first," he said.
There are about one million rural folks out of the three million population in Sarawak.
On Oct 11, it was reported that the Federal Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living hired Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and Universiti Malaysia Sabah to carry out a six-month comprehensive study of the high costs of living in Sarawak and Sabah respectively.
The study will come with recommendations on how to tackle these surging costs of living so that the ministry in Putrajaya can draw up a blueprint. - October 14, 2024
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