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PRESS RELEASE / SIARAN MEDIA
10th MAY 2021
FOMCA has been recently receiving many complaints from policy holders of medical insurance of indiscriminate increase in the price of their premiums.
We are concerned of how extensive this issue this and how many consumers have been similarly affected by the price increase of their premiums.
We call on all consumers with medical insurance policies to inform us of the price increase of your premiums and for those who have not received any notices of price increase in your medical insurance to contact your agent and ask him/her if there is indeed any increase in the price of your medical premiums.
At the current time, with unending lockdowns and conditional lockdowns, many consumers have been severely affected either through loss of jobs or reduction in incomes. This is certainly not the time to increase insurance premiums.
It is certainly wrong and unacceptable that insurance companies, at this time raise premium prices to make excessive profits. Consumers are already suffering.
If based on your feedback, we find that many consumers have been forced to pay increasing medical premiums, FOMCA will be launching a National Campaign to urge Bank Negara Malaysia to Stop the Increase in Medical Premiums.
Consumers are facing tremendous economic pressure due to job loss, income loss and economic insecurity. Now is certainly not the time to increase medical insurance premiums.
As a responsible regulator, Bank Negara Malaysia, to protect consumers, should have already pre-emptively directed insurance companies not to increase premiums at this point of time.
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Monday, 10 May 2021
PETALING JAYA: Motor insurance practices that are allegedly unfair to consumers are now being sorted out by the authorities and the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca).These alleged practices include failure to cover the full amount of repair costs quoted, lengthy claim settlements that drag on for months and refusal to compensate consumers for loss of use of the vehicle.
Fomca said Bank Negara must protect consumers in such situations.
“Bank Negara has contacted us, saying it took such matters seriously and is reviewing the issues.
“They have asked us for more information on specific cases and the points we have raised in order for them to respond, ” National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) senior manager Baskaran Sithamparam said when contacted.
NCCC is a centre under Fomca that deals with consumers’ complaints.
Baskaran said Fomca has requested for a meeting with Bank Negara to discuss matters involving motor insurance.
Between January and March, a total of 86 complaints on motor insurance and workshops were received by Fomca through the NCCC.
“From 2019 to 2020, we received 1,354 complaints involving insurance for vehicles and property, ” he added.
When claiming motor insurance, Baskaran said one common issue faced by consumers was being denied their right to choose the workshop to repair their vehicles even though the workshop is registered under the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) and Road Transport Department.
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May 6, 2021 9:45 AM
PETALING JAYA: Two consumer groups have called on the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) to investigate e-commerce giant Shopee for allegedly offering RM3,000 in vouchers to sellers to close their stores on Lazada.
The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) said the allegation, if true, stifles competition, while the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) said the move is akin to using the vouchers as “bait” to attract sellers.
“If an e-commerce provider says ‘Just sell on my platform, don’t sell on others’, that’s not proper,” said Fomca’s chief executive officer, Saravanan Thambirajah.
“There has to be competition. When there is competition, consumers will gain. If someone is distorting the market, MyCC should take action.”
Saravanan also called on the sellers to report to MyCC if they felt they were being “disturbed” by e-commerce platforms.
Noting the numerous reports consumers have filed against the two e-commerce giants regarding fake products and scams on the platform, he said MyCC has been pushing the domestic trade and consumer affairs minister to take action against the sites.
“That’s also why they should definitely investigate this,” he said.
“The most important agency to investigate this is MyCC as this falls under their purview.”
Read more: Consumer groups call on MyCC to probe e-commerce giant
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From 1st June 2021, Astro will be charging RM 5 extra for those with Astro Movies package whether consumers want the Disney and Hotstar movies package or not. It appears that Astro can “make changes to the packages” as per terms and conditions as they so wish that results in the increase in the price of the package for their customers.
It is sad that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is allowing Atro to force existing consumers to accept a package that they never agreed to. It appears that Astro can over-charge as they please without the explicit consent of the consumers.
This is a clear assault on consumer’s right to choose.
Will the regulator, the MCMC step in to protect consumers’ rights?
While the Disney and Hotstar may be good packages with good value for money, consumers should have the right to make the choice to accept that package. At this particular time when many consumers have lost their jobs or had their incomes reduced to the pandemic, they should be given a choice whether they want to spend more on their monthly Astro bill. This approval must be explicit. No seller can use “make changes to the packages” clause to arbitrarily force a package which involves increased payment on consumers, more so at this point of time. Consumers should always be given a choice, but more so at this point of challenging economic times.
The telcos and the media and broadcastings companies are indeed powerful industries with immense lobbying power. The role of the regulator is to balance the power of the industry and the protection of the consumers. Without the protection by the regulator, the telco industry and media and broadcasting companies would seek higher profits through low quality services and over-pricing. There would be no protection for consumers. Consumers would be at the mercy of the industry.
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April 24, 2021 9:00 AM
PETALING JAYA: The rise in chicken prices since the start of Ramadan has ruffled the feathers of many consumers, forcing the authorities to intervene.
Chicken is the most widely consumed meat in the country, with the typical Malaysian eating an average of 50.9kg of poultry a year. Any rise in prices is therefore always an issue.
It was reported recently that the price of chicken had rocketed from RM7.50 per kg to between RM9 and RM10 per kg.
FMT takes a look at the factors affecting poultry prices and explores what can be done to address the issue.
According to a poultry farmer who declined to be named, the main factor affecting chicken prices is the cost of production.
The main ingredients in chicken feed are corn, soya bean meal, and crude palm oil (CPO). The prices of these have been going up.
In recent months, the farmer said, the prices of imported corn had increased by 41.5%, imported soya bean meal by 57.6% and CPO by 43.3%.
“People often ask why we don’t feed chickens with cheaper food like palm kernel cakes. It boils down to nutrition as corn and soya bean meal offer the best nutrition.
“Lower quality feed affects the growth of the chickens. This means it will take longer for the chicken to reach a size and weight suitable for sale.”
Read more: Why chicken prices are no longer finger-licking good
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April 19, 2021 @ 9:15am
THE government should introduce environmental conservation as a subject in schools, with a focus on education and awareness of the economic, social and environmental impact of food wastage.
Environmentalist Dr Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir said this was a viable long-term solution to problems associated with plastic and food waste.
Failure to do this, she said, would result in food waste remaining a perennial issue, especially during festive periods such as Ramadan and Hari Raya.
Sharifah Mazlina, who is Permata Greenland Organisation chairman, said it was crucial that good habits to stop food waste were inculcated among Malaysians at a young age.
She said this would help protect the environment and slow global warming.
"The school syllabus has to include a subject on environmental conservation, covering consequences and preventive actions to reduce food waste in schools.
"The authorities can emulate countries such as Canada and Japan, where such a move has helped create a society that values food and cares for the environment."
Sharifah Mazlina, who is also chairman of the All Women's Empowerment to Accelerate, was responding to concerns raised by Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man over increasing food waste recorded during the fasting month.
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15 APR 2021
FEDERATION of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) and the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) would like to alert Malaysian consumers on the sudden spike of scam-related complaints.
Scammers are becoming more sophisticated with their tactics and are hoping consumers would let their guard down. Consumers are urged not to provide their personal, banking or any details to strangers.
Fomca has been receiving around 450 complaints and enquiries related to scams since January. Based on Fomca’s observation, the scammers take advantage of vulnerable consumers, and surprisingly some of the victims are highly-educated.
It is becoming more difficult to know and differentiate between a scam and a legitimate business.
Fomca would also like to urge the relevant authorities to be proactive and play their role in curbing unscrupulous activities. Many consumers are still not aware of scamming activities.
The Communications and Multimedia Ministry and Malaysian Communications Multimedia Commission should play an important role to educate consumers through their channels.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry also needs to frequently publish and update all scam-related cases on their website so consumers will be well informed.
Enforcement agencies must also charge these culprits, and increase fines and jail terms for these offences. Scammers are constantly trying to steal consumers’ personal data using fake emails, websites, phone calls and even text messages by using various ways to trick people into providing personal information like bank account numbers and other valuable information, such as credit card numbers.
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13 April 2021
LETTER | It has been reported that Celcom Axiata Bhd is merging with Digi.Com Bhd to create the biggest mobile service provider in Malaysia. The proposed merger would result in the emergence of Asean’s largest telecommunications company with anticipated revenue of RM50 billion and net profit of RM4 billion.
This merger will result in market domination and reduce competition in the telecommunications sector. According to experts, with the merger, Celcom and Digi would have a combined share of 67 percent of mobile subscribers and 58 percent of the revenue.
With the merger, there would only be two competing corporations in the telecommunications sector - the merged company and Maxis. This clearly indicates a high level of concentration in the telecommunications sector.
With reducing competition in the telecommunications sector, would this result in higher prices and lower quality for consumers?
In a similar incident (though not a full merger), Malaysian Airline System and AirAsia signed a collaboration agreement to collaborate instead of competing on routes.
With reduced competition, consumers ended up paying higher prices and had fewer choices in choosing their airlines. This was the clear result of market sharing which had a disastrous impact on consumer welfare and consumer well-being.
Fomca had filed a complaint with the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) to investigate this collaboration between MAS and AirAsia and its impact on consumer welfare.
Read more: LETTER | Do a thorough investigation on Celcom-Digi merger
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12 APR 2021 / 10:42 H
PETALING JAYA: Ideally, water should be served free of charge at eateries. However, if an eatery chooses to bill a customer for a glass of water, it should not be more than 30 sen.
That is the consensus reached between consumer groups and an association of restaurant operators.
They were commenting on a recent announcement that the government is cracking down on high-end restaurants, fast food outlets, franchises and eateries, as well as stalls across the country, that charge RM1 or more for a glass of water.
Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Rosol Wahid said notices have been issued to 84 food and beverage outlet operators.
As of yesterday, Kelantan accounted for 14 of the offenders, the highest in the country.
The other states where overcharging for water have also been recorded are Selangor (12), Sabah (eight), Sarawak (eight), Johor (eight), Pahang (seven), Terengganu (six), Kuala Lumpur (five), Malacca (four), Labuan (three), Penang (three), Perlis (two), Perak (two) and Negri Sembilan (two).
Rosol said the notices, issued through Ops Catut 8.0 (Plain Water) that started last Wednesday, was in response to complaints from the public.
Read more: ‘Not more than 30 sen for drinking water at eateries’
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9 April 2021
LETTER | According to the Competition Act 2010, the goal of the law is to “promote economic development by promoting and protecting the process of competition”. The act also specifically states that by doing so it aims to protect the interests of the consumer.
Has the Competition Act in fact protected the interests of consumers?
The biggest impact on the cost of living for consumers is the increasing price of food. Fomca had strongly advocated for a market review on the food supply chain to ascertain if the high price of foods was due to market manipulation.
In August 2019, the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) published and released the Market Review on the food sector. The report had confirmed that one of the key reasons for high food prices was price distortions and manipulations in the food supply chain.
For example, according to the report, the price of ikan kembong has increased by six times between the price received by the fisherman and the price paid by the consumer. Another example of substantial price increase is the price of cabbage; price at the farm is RM1.60 while the consumer pays a retail price of RM3.90, an increase of 143 percent.
Another example of price manipulation was the fish supply chain. Middle men are known to hoard fish when prices are low, thus restricting supplies and forcing the prices of fish to increase. There was also opaqueness in price determination along the supply chain.
MyCC in its report had identified multiple causes of the exorbitant food price in the market. The reasons include market manipulation by middlemen, multiple intermediaries and manipulation of approved permits causing unreasonable increase in food prices.
Read more: LETTER | Has the MyCC protected consumer interests?
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