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KOTA KINABALU : Parti Warisan today called upon the Chief Minister, Hajiji Mohd Noor and GRS-led State Government to ensure surveillance, inspection and enforcement are being conducted regularly by the relevant department and agencies to ensure prices of goods in Sabah remained stable.
According to the party’s Vice President, Terrence Siambun such exercise will protect consumers in Sabah especially the lower income group residing at suburbs and rural areas in Sabah from unscrupulous traders and suppliers who will manipulate the supply and demand mechanism.
“I have received complaints made by villagers on the issue of foreigner-operated sundry shops in the suburbs and rural areas selling essential goods such as cooking oil, rice, sugar and flour at much higher price despite these are controlled goods.
There are instances of these sundry shops selling subsidized 1L plastic cooking oil at RM3.50 per packet despite it should be sold at RM2.50. The question now arises of whether the sundry shop operators are making huge profit out of this or whether they got their stocks from suppliers at a much higher price. If the answer is the latter, then who are the suppliers?
This is where the GRS-led State Government should be proactive in doing their surveillance, inspection and enforcement for the purpose of protecting the welfare and interests of the Sabahans. Do not sit idly and simply wait for complaints because if you do, then over time this will become a huge problem for us such as the shortage of subsidized cooking oil that we faced last year,” he stressed it.
Meanwhile another Warisan’s Vice President, Dr. Daud Yusof said that the State Government must be prepared for possible vegetables price increase due to wet season that had started in Sabah through engagement with producers and farm operators.
“With wet season starting its cycle now and monsoon expected to hit us by September, increased rainfall due to climate change may cause flooding in the West Coast particularly at Beaufort, Membakut, Tenom, Putatan and Penampang.
Our concern is that if heavy rain continues till the end of the year, then this will disrupt the vegetables yield. Worst, if flooding this year is more destructive to the point of destroying vegetable farms and logistic network, then prices of vegetables will soar many folds more so when farmers will try to recuperate their losses due to destroyed crops, fertilizer and pesticides.
That is why the State Government must be prepared to face any eventuality especially in ensuring prices of vegetables in the State remained stable through constant engagement with farm operators and suppliers. Do not wait until chaos happen,” he explained it.
On a related matter, the deputy president of Warisan, Datuk Darell Leiking stated that the party will monitor closely the issue on price of goods and inflation in Sabah, and continue to act as a watchdog to ensure the interests and welfare of ordinary Sabahans, particularly the silent majority, are protected.
“Lest we forget that while the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) announced last month that inflation in Malaysia had slowed, with the consumer price index (CPI) falling from 3.3% in April to 2.8% in May, Sabah recorded a 3.0% increase over the national figure.”
We don’t know what the latest figure is, but with the weaker ringgit, rising operating costs faced by Malaysian/Sabahan manufacturers, the decision by major Asian food producers such as Vietnam and India to reduce rice exports, and the rising price of imported feed and fertilisers, we believes that the price of goods in Sabah may remain high until next year hence the need for us to monitor the development closely through a dedicated unit in Warisan.
Unlike major cities on the Peninsular, where people have many brands to choose from based on their purchasing power, Sabahans in the suburbs and rural areas do not have that luxury due to the previous State Government’s decades of neglect in developing our manufacturing and processing industries and failure to uplift connectivity and essential infrastructures such as proper roads, stable power supplies and human skill-set as well.
Thus, it is imperative that the State Government develops a comprehensive agenda involving government bodies and relevant stakeholders that will also outline and ensure future proof strategic policies and directions, particularly in terms of implementation, monitoring, and enforcement that must be based on a corruption-free, transparent and accountable governance,” he concluded.
