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13 MAC 2021
SIARAN AKHBAR
HARI HAK-HAK PENGGUNA SEDUNIA, 15 MAC 2021
TEMA: MENANGANI PENCEMARAN PLASTIK

Hari Hak-hak Pengguna Sedunia (WCRD) disambut pada 15 Mac setiap tahun. Ini merupakan sambutan global yang diraikan oleh pergerakan pengguna di seluruh negara. Pada setiap tahun, pertubuhan pengguna di seluruh dunia akan bergabung pada hari yang sama untuk menyoroti dan memberi kesedaran mengenai sesuatu isu yang penting bagi pengguna di seluruh dunia.

Tema WCRD bagi tahun 2021 ialah `Menangani Pencemaran Plastik’. Acara WCRD diselaraskan oleh Consumers International yang mempunyai keahlian lebih daripada 200 pertubuhan dari 100 buah negara. Pada masa ini, Presiden Gabungan Persatuan-persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (FOMCA) juga meupakan Presiden Consumers International.

Terdapat 17 Matlamat Pembangunan Lestari (SDG) yang ditetapkan semasa Sidang Kemuncak Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) pada tahun 2016. Semua matlamat ini perlu dicapai menjelang tahun 2030. Pada masa ini, bumi sedang menghadapi pelbagai masalah besar - isu wabak COVID-19 hinggalah pencemaran. Salah satu punca utama yang menyumbang kepada pencemaran ialah plastik.

Matlamat SDG yang ke-12 ialah pengeluaran dan penggunaan yang bertanggungjawab. Peningkatan pengeluaran dan penggunaan barang di seluruh dunia menjadi penyumbang utama kepada ekonomi. Tetapi pengeluaran dan penggunaan yang secara berterusan juga akan menyumbang kepada kemusnahan semula jadi flora dan fauna. Pembangunan sosial dan ekonomi sudah pasti akan merosakkan bumi di pelbagai peringkat.

Penggunaan plastik sukar dielakkan kerana penggunaannya telah menjadi suatu kebiasaan, yang memudahkan kehidupan seharian - dari peralatan makanan sehingga komponen peralatan elektrik dan kenderaan. Plastik sememangnya telah mengubah kehidupan kita. Apabila jumlah penduduk semakin meningkat setiap tahun, maka penggunaan plastik juga kian bertambah. Plastik telah menjadi keperluan manusia yang amat ketara apabila plastik telah berubah dari plastik kepada bahan polimer yang boleh menjadi sintetik, termoset dan termoplastik.

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13 MARCH 2021
PRESS RELEASE
WORLD CONSUMER RIGHT DAY 2021,15 MARCH 2021
THEME: TACKLING PLASTIC POLLUTION

15th March is World Consumer Rights Day. It is an annual occasion for celebration, impact and global solidarity within the international consumer movement. Each year consumer organisations throughout the world mark the day by joining to highlight and raise awareness of an issue that is important to consumers’ around the world.

The theme for World Consumers Rights Day 2021 is “Tackling Plastic Pollution. The WCRD event is organised and coordinated by Consumers International, which has membership of over 200 members from over 100 countries. The current President of CI is the President of FOMCA.

United Nations historic Summit in 2016 launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Currently, the universe is facing lots of major issues from pandemic to pollution. One main culprit contributing to pollution is plastic.

Goal number 12 of the SDG is about responsible production and consumption. The production and consumption of goods worldwide are nevertheless increasing as it is one of the major global contributor towards economy. Undeniably the inexhaustible production and consumption has contributed to the destruction of our mother nature both to the flora and fauna alike. Economic and social development has certainly impaired the planet earth at multilevel.

Plastics are something inevitable as it has been a boon in certain ways as we use it practically every day from our fork and spoon to components of electrical appliances and vehicles. Plastics have indeed changed our lives. As the population keeps increasing annually, so does the usage of plastics. The need for plastics have indeed increased tremendously since plastics have diversified from plastic to polymeric material which can be synthetic, thermoset or thermoplastics.

In Malaysia, besides, being one of the highest among six countries in Asia contributing to plastic waste, we are also importing plastic waste. In 2020 according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the estimate value of annual food plastic packaging consumption in Malaysia amounted to 148,000 metric tons. Malaysia’s annual per capita plastic consumption for packaging was almost 16.8 kilograms. Besides that, Malaysia is also a major importer of plastic waste, taking in 870,000 metric tons in 2018. This however has dwindled to 143,000 tons in 2019 as the government took stern and strict actions by closing illegal plants and imports.

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Mac 15, 2021 11:03 MYT
PENGGUNA perlu terus memainkan peranan dengan mengurangkan kebergantungan kepada plastik sekali guna.

Gabungan Persatuan-Persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (FOMCA) dalam satu kenyataan memaklumkan kerajaan telah mengambil beberapa tindakan untuk mengurangkan penggunaan beg plastik, termasuk mengenakan caj bagi beg plastik yang dijual di pasar raya dan kedai serbaneka.

Presidennya, Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason memaklumkan bagi mengelakkan pengguna membayar caj tersebut, peruncit perlu menggalakkan pengguna untuk membeli beg kitar semula dengan harga yang berpatutan.

Selain itu, katanya, penularan COVID-19 telah mewujudkan perubahan kepada trend pengguna apabila pengguna mula membawa bekas sendiri untuk bawa pulang makanan.

“Pengguna yang bertanggungjawab dan mempunyai kesedaran tentang kesan penggunaan beg plastik, akan menggunakan bekas makanan yang boleh dikitar semula.

"Pekerja pula membeli makanan dan makan di pejabat mereka.

"Ramai juga yang menggunakan bekas air yang boleh digunakan semula untuk dibawa ke mana sahaja,” katanya.
Dr Marimuthu berkata plastik akan terus kekal kerana ia sudah sebati dengan kehidupan seharian.

Penggunaan plastik memang tidak dapat dielakkan dalam kehidupan masyarakat tetapi bukan plastik sekali guna.

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Mac 15, 2021 08:00 MYT
MASALAH persekitaran berkaitan sampah plastik menjadi isu besar di Malaysia apabila ia berada di kedudukan kelapan antara 10 negara teratas di dunia yang menghadapi isu sampah tidak terurus.

Kesan penggunaan plastik akan dirasai apabila orang ramai dan penyedia perkhidmatan tidak bertanggungjawab berterusan membuang plastik secara tidak terurus.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Gabungan Persatuan Pengguna-pengguna Malaysia (FOMCA), Dr Saravanan Thambirajah berkata pelbagai kaedah perlu digunakan untuk mendidik masyarakat agar mengurangkan penggunaan plastik.

“Sekolah adalah tempat terbaik untuk mendidik anak-anak. Anak-anak generasi masa kini berani menegur ibu bapa mereka yang membuang sampah di khalayak ramai.

Selain itu, perlu diwujudkan lebih banyak pusat kitar semula supaya pengguna mempunyai akses untuk melupuskan sampah plastik atau barang yang boleh dikitar semula.

"Kerajaan perlu melibatkan peranan persatuan penduduk di tempat masing-masing.
"Ia pasti dapat mengurangkan plastik berakhir di tapak pelupusan sampah,” ujarnya.

Mengulas isu sama, Persatuan Pengguna Pulau Pinang (CAP) berpandangan tahap kesedaran dalam kalangan masyarakat mengenai sampah plastik masih kurang.

Naib Presidennya, Fathima Idris berkata meskipun pelbagai kempen dilaksanakan, namun penggunaan plastik dilihat masih lagi tinggi terutamanya di pasar awam dan kedai-kedai runcit.

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Wednesday, 10 Mar 2021
ONE April morning last year, Selangor resident Khairul, 45, woke up to find the taps in his high-rise apartment unit were dry.

He did not worry too much, thinking it was a one-time incident.

It happened again in July, and later in September, where water supply was cut for six long days.

Like many other Klang Valley residents, he was fed up with the frequent water disruption as it was a major inconvenience.

Anticipating more disruptions in the future, he forked out some RM300 to buy water containers in early October.

“The unscheduled water cut was becoming like a monthly affair.

“For a country that claims to be developed, having this many water disruptions is truly embarrassing, ” said Khairul.

The topic of water disruption is topmost in every Klang Valley resident’s mind as they have suffered a lot due to water cuts over many years.

To address the issue in more detail, Malaysia Water Forum (AWF) and Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) have jointly organised a three-series webinar titled “Lets Talk Water” to get feedback from various parties.

The first series titled “Unbundling Water Disruption” saw panellists from AWF, Fomca, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and Ranhill SAJ Sdn Bhd.

Points to ponder

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March 5, 2021 11:48 AM
PETALING JAYA: A consumer group has called for stricter enforcement of data protection laws to send a message to companies that weak data security will not be tolerated.

This comes after Malaysia Airlines informed members on Monday that its Enrich frequent flyer programme had suffered a data breach through a third-party information technology service provider at some point between March 2010 and June 2019.

The information included members’ names, birthdays, gender, contact information and other details.

The carrier did not disclose how many people were impacted, but said the breach did not affect the airline’s core infrastructure and systems.

In a statement, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general Paul Selvaraj said the silence from the Department of Personal Data Protection, tasked with implementing the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, had been “deafening” on this and other data security matters.

“Are these companies being held responsible for data breaches or are they allowed to go free without consequences?

“If companies breaching data security are allowed to escape any consequences for their lax data security, it would only signal to other companies that there are no consequences and thus, there will be no effort to strengthen data privacy and security measures,” he said.

Selvaraj said consumers will continue to suffer unless the law is better enforced, as widespread digital use has resulted in more consumer data being collected than ever before, with some apps like MySejahtera and Selangkah becoming essential services.

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Mac 3, 2021 @ 4:26pm
KUALA LUMPUR: Gabungan Persatuan-Persatuan Pengguna Malaysia (FOMCA) meminta kerajaan meneliti semula kadar faedah gadai janji dan sewa beli dalam suasana pandemik COVID-19 yang belum pulih sepenuhnya.

Presidennya, Prof Datuk Dr N Marimuthu, berkata pengurangan itu wajar dikaji semula memandangkan kebanyakan institusi perbankan mengumumkan keuntungan besar bagi tahun kewangan 2020.

"Pengurangan kadar faedah itu juga perlu membabitkan pinjaman kerajaan bagi membolehkan orang awam berbelanja, sekali gus memberi suntikan kepada ekonomi negara," katanya dalam kenyataan hari ini.

Dalam pada itu katanya, kerajaan perlu membantu keluarga berpendapatan pertengahan dan rendah yang berdepan kekangan ekonomi disebabkan pandemik COVID-19 dengan mengurangkan kos perbelanjaan isi rumah.
Marimuthu berkata, ketika ini tidak banyak insentif dan pengurangan tarif diberikan kepada golongan berkenaan kecuali oleh sektor tenaga yang memberikan potongan ketika Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP).

"Sejak PKP dilaksanakan, ramai dalam kategori ini hilang pekerjaan dan dikurangkan pendapatan tetapi masih perlu menanggung kewajipan kewangan membayar bil utiliti setiap bulan.

"Mereka juga terpaksa berdepan kenaikan harga makanan dan barangan keperluan penting," katanya.

Sumber: https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2021/03/792256/syor-teliti-semula-kadar-faedah-gadai-janji-sewa-beli-fomca

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March 2, 2021 @ 9:00am
KUALA LUMPUR: Draining retirement savings from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Account 1 serves to underscore how financially ill-prepared some Malaysians are for rainy days, even before the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Such a move during the pandemic would only compound the negative effects on Malaysians as they had barely enough savings in Account 1 to tide them through retirement, said the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca).

Fomca chief executive officer Datuk Paul Selvaraj, describing the situation as "dangerous", said based on reports, 67 per cent of Malaysians were unable to meet the minimum amount of RM240,000 in savings on retirement.

Some 42 per cent of Malaysians, he said, solely depended on Account 1 funds and had no other form of savings or revenue.
"While the measure to ease their financial burden now is good, it is going to be very tough on them when they hit retirement age.

"This is a dilemma as whatever savings they have will be little and may be exhausted within two to three years.

"The money channelled to Account 1 is a form of forced savings and in principle, should not be touched until one's retirement.

"However, with 30 per cent Malaysians said to have withdrawn close to all of their savings, it shows how unready we are for emergencies.

"It proves how saving for retirement is not taken seriously as the amounts are low.

"They are forced to dig into their long-term savings, which is not good, and such situations expose how it (saving for retirement) is being neglected," he told the New Straits Times.

On Saturday, EPF chief executive officer Tunku Alizakri Alias revealed in the EPF Financial Report 2020 that nearly 30 per cent of members could have taken out almost all of their Account 1 retirement savings since March last year, leaving only RM100 as part of the condition.

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February 24, 2021 @ 4:51pm
KUALA LUMPUR: The government must actively address the issue of vaccination hesitation in the country and Malaysians, as a whole, must have a national consensus on receiving the Covid-19 immunisation.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj said these issues must be tackled for the three-phase national Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) to be successful in the battle against the virus.

While the inoculation of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has instilled confidence in the people towards the vaccination, Selvaraj said it was important for the government to embark on active engagements with the people on getting vaccinated.

He suggested that the government could engage the help of community or religious leaders to convey the message to society.
"As a nation, we cannot afford to have divided opinions in the biggest ever vaccination exercise to fight Covid-19. Nowadays, certain quarters are influenced by different schools of thought and that is inevitable.

"It is unlike those days where vaccinations are taken as it is necessary but now, we have all sorts of debates and opinions.

"For the NIP to work, everyone has to be on board. Strong and consistent messages must be sent out to Malaysians on getting vaccinated and to dispel uncertainties, or else this will hamper the government's aim to achieve herd immunity and everyone will suffer," he told the New Straits Times.

Fire and Rescue Department director-general Datuk Seri Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said 15,000 of its personnel will be vaccinated in the first and second phases of the NIP.

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February 3, 2021 @ 9:30am
KUALA LUMPUR: ConsumeR groups are urging the government to set a price cap on Covid-19 screening as a move to encourage mass community testing.

They claimed that allowing healthcare facilities to set their own prices for screening had resulted in rampant profiteering.

A survey by the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) found that the cost for Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (Rt-PCR) test started from as low as RM100 and could go up to RM580, while the cost for screening using the Rapid Test Kit-Antigen (RTK-Antigen) ranged from RM50 to RM350.

Fomca president Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason said it was high time the government standardised the cost for Covid-19 tests, similar to how the price for face masks was capped under controlled items.
"We are facing (a health) emergency, yet many irresponsible healthcare facilities are cashing in on the crisis by charging exorbitant fees for the tests.

"This profiteering must stop. The cost for RTK-Ag test should be capped at RM70 maximum," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

Although the Rt-PCR test is considered more accurate, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had, on Jan 22, twittered that the RTK-Ag could be used as a confirmed test result if the healthcare system was overburdened.

He said the RTK-Ag test could be used when the turnaround time for Rt-PCR test was longer than 72 hours or when the Rt-PCR test was not available.

However, he said, the RTK-Ag test kit must have a sensitivity of more than 80 per cent, and the kit's specificity should exceed 97 per cent.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye called on the government to place the RTK-Ag test kit as a price-controlled item to lower the screening cost.

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