PETALING JAYA: When fuel prices go up, prices of items like even “ais kosong” shoot up but when fuel prices come down, everything that went up still stays “up”.

So who’s to blame for this? Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil seems to know at least one party responsible for this unfair practice – weak consumer associations.

Shahrizat reportedly said consumer bodies now lack the bite they used to have in the past when they were feared by errant traders, saying they must re-establish this to tackle issues that affect consumers such as unscrupulous traders who refuse to bring down prices despite the decline in oil prices.

Her statement did not sit well with Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) president Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason, who said Shahrizat is “barking down the wrong tree”.

“She has been a Cabinet minister before. Does she not know that policies are decided by policy makers and not us?

“She should be speaking to the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) on what their enforcement officers are doing. Does she not know that enforcement lies with them and not us?” asked an irate Marimuthu.

He said in addition to KPDNKK, Shahrizat should “also think about speaking to the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Ministry on what they are doing about this”.

“If they know that supply is shrinking, shouldn’t they be increasing their permits to flood the market with these items so that prices remain competitive?

“Sharizat should also be asking them what their long term plan is for the agriculture sector because there are still thousands of acres of idle land in the country. Shouldn’t she ask them about this as our import bills are so high?” asked Marimuthu.

The press release of the Malaysian External Trade Statistics in December 2014 states that on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis imports increased RM2.3 billion to RM58.5 billion.

Imports of consumption goods which accounted for 7.8 per cent of total imports expanded RM199.2 million to RM4.6 billion.

Marimuthu suggested that Sharizat should talk to the International Trade and Industry Ministry on the types of agreements they are signing all over the world and the impact it has on the prices of goods in the country.

“She should be talking to these people. Do not point fingers. I am not a Cabinet minister. If you want me to be one, hire me,” he said.

Marimuthu had this message for Shahrizat: “Fomca has been in the market for 42 years. We know what we are doing. Do not teach us how to do our job,”

He said Fomca knows that the best protection is self-protection and had embarked on a financial literacy programme to teach prudent financial management to Malaysians, starting from students in schools.

“We are doing this but we have a limited reach. We do not have enough funding for our programmes to reach the whole nation. We do what we can with what we have. You provide us with the funds and we will increase our reach,” said Marimuthu.

He said that by assigning blame to consumer groups, Shahrizat was only making those in power look weaker.

“If you say we are weak, then the government of the day is weak too as you are the one in power. We are not the ones in whose hands power lie and who draw up and implement policies. This is not the time to point fingers. Shahrizat must understand global economics, our import policies and bills as well as other factors before talking.

“We at Fomca have taken a moderate stand by not pushing for drastic measures that will be detrimental to the peace and harmony of this country. If Shahrizat wants that, I may have to rethink my policies,” said Marimuthu.

Shahrizat had said that she would arrange a meeting with Fomca on being a smart partner to reinforce the power of female consumers.

“Consumer associations were more active in the past and had a great influence in assisting the government. Now, we want to work with the associations to prevent the problem of errant traders.

“We will mobilise the newly formed Wanita Umno Consumer Squad to identify traders who offer reasonable prices in a campaign soon,” Shahrizat was quoted as saying.

Marimuthu has a point. What are the KPDNKK enforcement officers doing?

Wouldn’t it be more effective to threaten to revoke the licences of errant traders who refuse to lower prices than to get consumer movements to get traders to reduce prices?

Especially since monopolies exist and logistics play a role in where a consumer chooses to buy goods, with consumers sometimes having no choice but to frequent a particular trader despite the higher prices of goods.

Doesn’t the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 empower KPDNKK to monitor, control and take action on any price increase due to excessive profiteering?

Passing the buck to consumer movements when the power to absolutely close down a business lies with the ministry is not fair.

After all, KPDNKK has a consumer squad (the rebranded price monitoring volunteers group, which was set up in 2001) to check the prices of goods during festive seasons.

Why not use them now to report unscrupulous traders?

The government is the one with the power and they are the ones who should use it.

If Shahrizat wants Marimuthu to handle this, then maybe he is right. Hire him as a Cabinet minister.

- See more at: The Ant Daily