THE prices of almost everything in the country are shooting up, while sadly, our wages seem to remain stagnant.
While we can blame the global economy for the spiralling living costs, there are some things which our government can help us with.
For one, the government must step in and put a stop to the proposed increase in insurance premiums expected to kick in next year.
This has a dramatic boomerang effect and will result in severe negative consequences if not stopped.
For one, more Malaysians will be forced to turn to public healthcare and this will surely put a strain on doctors, nurses and our public health facilities as a whole.
There are no reports of any insurance companies running into losses, so there is no justification at all for this increase.
Neither has any private hospital ever incurred losses and been forced to close down.
Another thing which the government can help people with, especially those in the lower income group, is to put an end to the RM1 interbank withdrawal fee.
People like me never thought much about this RM1 fee until the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) recently highlighted how this small amount can run into millions.
I had also never realised that this RM1 can add up to quite a considerable amount over the year.
To middle-class citizens like me, private hospitals, insurance companies and most certainly, banks are money-minting machines that never run dry.
These organisations should be thinking about giving back to society and not continuously squeezing the rakyat for blood.
I sincerely urge our Prime Minister to please put an end to the proposed insurance premium hikes and also the RM1 withdrawal fee.
The rakyat is already drowning, please don't tie boulders to our feet to make it worse.
Nik Imran Nik Hussein is a reader of The Vibes
