MIRI – The new year is seeing prices of many foodstuffs going on a sharp upward trend in various urban localities in Sarawak, especially for prepared dishes in eateries that contain pork.
The price of pork has gone up by RM5 per kg to RM8 in various places in Sarawak, such as Miri.
A check by The Vibes today showed that pork in the Miri city market now costs RM45 per kg.
“That is an increase of RM5 from last week,” said a housewife.
For the past two months, the price of pork in Miri had been hiked eight times, she said.
For breakfast items, many hawkers are charging RM5 per small plate of the famous local kolok mee noodles, with just a few pieces of dried pork, up from RM3.50 per plate before.
Plates with added slices of pork, beef, or chicken could cost more than RM10 each.
Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen said that the price of pork is expected to go up by another RM3 per kg in Sarawak.
“The pork sellers have served a notice that fresh pork will see an increase of RM3 per kg next week in Sarawak,” said the Padungan assemblyman.
“The price increase just before the Chinese New Year will hit consumers very badly.
“I call on the Gabungan Parti Sarawak state government to urgently intervene and do something to stabilise the prices of these essential foods,” he said in a social media post.
The Stampin MP and chairman of Sarawak Pakatan Harapan claimed that GPS is not doing anything to help reduce the ever-surging cost of living in Sarawak.
“I raised this issue of rising prices in Sarawak during the state assembly sitting in Kuching last month.
“However, it looks like the GPS ministers have no plans on how to deal with these problems affecting the common folk,” he said.
Chong said the federal cabinet is rolling out concrete plans to tackle the high costs of living, but GPS has not offered any plans for what it is doing to tackle the same problem within Sarawak.
The Vibes today tried to contact Miri Mayor Adam Yii to get his comments on the latest price hikes in Miri but could not reach him. – The Vibes, January 2, 2023
