Prudence, as many say, will be the key to Malaysians to embrace the year 2014. A vast majority of Malaysians were baffled and left fuming when the day government decided to remove subsidies and increase prices of essentials like electricity and house assessments rates, all within a six to seven months’ time frame.

Many have also said that those residing in Klang Valley shall witness a price hike in tolls, some up to RM2. Coming under fire for such abrupt decisions, the Government had remained silent on most occasions, defending such measures as a necessity in efforts to balance out Malaysia’s fiscal deficit. Some of the Government officials went to the extent of saying such measures were long due and that the Malaysians have been pampered with subsidies for quite some time now. 

While it is true that subsidies distorts the perfection in a market and that the removal of such would do good, perhaps an in-depth study of damage control and the application of such that would help reduce the impact felt by the lower and lower-middle class should have been carried out with transparency, prior to the announcement of these measures taken by the Government.  That way, both the Government and the people could work like hands in gloves towards resolving issues arising from price hikes and the removal of subsidies. Engaging with people from different socio-economic background on a time to time basis is also crucial in reducing the impact of subsidy removals and price hikes felt by Malaysians at large. Let us all hope and pray that such is seen to be carried out with transparency. 

There was also no dire need for a back to back removal of subsidies of sugar and petrol in such a short span of time. As most would not witness a dramatic increase in their monthly income to be able to cope with the current price hikes and removal of subsidies, the ruling coalition ought to have spread-out these measures to enable people to recoup. 

The immediate knee-jerk reaction endured by the people at large would see them spending less for the sake of sustainability. This adds to the propensity of business to increase prices to be able to sustain themselves, of which, some may close down in the long run. It is undeniable that most businesses would be left with no choice but to increase the prices of goods and services resulting from the increase of their cost in production.  To this, the Government ought to set up a special watch dog unit to help businesses sustain and monitor them to ensure they do not hike prices to ridiculous levels. This is more so the case with businesses that are a monopoly by nature. Perhaps the Malaysian Competition Commission (MYCC) should also buck up by actively monitoring businesses closely to curb abuses amidst times of price hikes and subsidy removals. 

It is now too late to be lamenting over spilt milk as decisions have been made. Whatever said and done, it is our duty to ensure sustainability for the future of the children of Malaysia.  Let us all be fiscally responsible and spend wisely. Planning ahead would get you miles. Make a clear distinction of what is needed and what are mere wants of ours. 

With this, I wish my fellow Malaysians a Happy New Year and let’s fasten our seatbelts to survive all turbulences ahead!

Santhosh Kannan
Legal Executive at the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC)