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FEDERATION of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman has called on the people to plan their shopping before going out.“It is not wrong to go out to the supermarket or provision shop but list down the items required before leaving home to shorten your time outdoors or at the shops.
“In this way we can reduce our movement. Prepare your grocery list, gather the items, head for the cashier and go home,” he told Bernama, adding it is not necessary to go in a big group.“By right, you don’t have to bring along other family members. Go alone or with just another person. This is not the time for a family outing,” he said.When paying, Yusof encouraged shoppers to go for cashless payment as it is a safer option in preventing the spread of Covid-19. “I would recommend the use of cards instead physical cash as notes change hands several times in circulation.“When making payments, wear a face mask as it may be difficult to keep the one-metre distance at the payment counter,” he added. – Bernama, March 19, 2020.
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KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) hopes that the government would consider waiving the accrued interest rates on housing and other loan repayments due to the harsh economic climate.
President Datuk Marimuthu Nadason said although efforts by the government to defer the loan repayments for six months would certainly be helpful and assist households in reducing their household expenditure, it was not enough.
“Especially for the low-income families, the government needs to address the issues of job losses and diminished household incomes.“Fomca proposes a relook at the cost of living allowance for the Bottom 40 (B40) to increase the payment during these challenging times.“This is to ensure that families, especially those who have lost their income or have seen it diminish, have sufficient money to ensure a basic quality of life for their families,” he told Bernama.Marimuthu said the government should also take strong measures to ensure that especially small companies did not file for bankruptcy as this would have a very damaging impact on workers in those companies.
This is given that 98.4 per cent of businesses in Malaysia are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and they employ 67 per cent of the workforce.“The government needs to ensure the survival and sustainability of SMEs in these challenging times.“Fomca hopes that a comprehensive approach is taken to ensure that all Malaysians, but especially the low and middle income group, are supported and given assistance to ride out the Covid-19 crises,” he added.
Read more: Fomca: More help needed to sustain SMEs during MCO period
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PETALING JAYA: The country’s main association for petrol dealers says it fears the bulk of some 3,800 stations nationwide will have to suspend operations due to financial issues related to the “double whammy” of consecutive drops in fuel prices and the loss of traffic due to the government’s movement control order (MCO).Petrol Dealers Association Malaysia president Khairul Annuar Abdul Aziz told FMT the sale of fuel products is down by 70%.On average, he said, a station needs a working capital of RM150,000 to RM200,00 a month to buy fuel.Operating costs, including utilities and staff wages, are around RM30,000 to RM70,000 depending on the size of the station.“Usually, the money for this comes from the margins from selling fuel. But this month, there have been no margins as fuel prices have dropped for three consecutive weeks.”He said these drops cost petrol stations an average of RM40,000 each as the price at which they buy petrol is higher than the selling price the following week.
Read more: FMT: Dip in fuel prices, MCO may see petrol stations close, says group
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PETALING JAYA: Private hospitals are asked to put profits aside for now and in the name of service, support the Health Ministry in combating the Covid-19 pandemic.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) CEO Datuk Dr Paul Selvaraj said in this time of crisis, private hospitals, especially those run by government-linked companies, should give their utmost to assist the government given that public hospitals are called to treat the rising number of Covid-19 patients.“Put service as priority and put aside profits for now,“ he told theSun today.
Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong suggested that private hospitals step forward to take some of the burden off the public sector by providing some sort of subsidised charges or no cost at all. They should also help with cases which are not related to the viral pandemic, fill the need for special wards, offer intensive care unit space and equipment such as ventilators and oxygen supply.“In the best of times, private hospitals reap the benefits of the much touted Malaysian product known as ‘medical tourism’ and attract the best medical talents from the public sector.“Now that we are in the worst of times, private hospitals don’t seem to be doing too badly either.
Read more: FOMCA : Private hospitals urged to provide more assistance to govt hospitals
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PETALING JAYA: Malaysians yesterday headed to supermarkets and grocery stores in droves to stock up on essential items in the first sign of major panic buying in the country since the Covid-19 outbreak.Viral fake news purportedly from the Health Ministry “advising” Malaysians to stock up due to an imminent lockdown was believed to have contributed to the buying frenzy.Although it was a weekday, grocery stores and supermarkets saw an unusual increase of customers by between five and ten-fold throughout the day.
theSun surveyed several stores and found a continuous stream of shoppers making their way to the stores and leaving with shopping carts full of groceries. They said they were stocking up for between two weeks and a month.The top five targeted items by shoppers were toilet paper, canned food, biscuits, instant noodles and rice. While staff were seen replenishing most of the shelves, several remained empty.
At Star Grocers in Sea Park, several staff said the sudden increase of customers began on Sunday and rose by several fold yesterday.Businessman Alfred Lim, 50, was among those seen lining up at the long queue of the supermarket.“We want to ensure we have enough food stored in case there is a lockdown,” he said.While hundreds of others were grabbing essential food items, several who came over to pick up their usual food items were taken aback by the crowd.
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KUALA LUMPUR (March 17): Members of the public should look at the movement control order announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday in a positive light, and ensure that their activities are in line with the objective of containing the COVID-19 outbreak.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said, as such, the public should restrict their outdoor activities and avoid panic buying.He said the objective of restricting outdoor activities is to prevent (direct) contact with other people.“In the current situation, the public should stay at home, if they need to go to the shop, it should only be to buy essential items,” he told Bernama.Mohd Yusof said people should not take advantage of the movement control order by going out for recreation as the order was meant to stop the spread of the virus.He also advised traders not to take advantage of the situation by increasing the price of goods.“The supply chain should be unchanged because so far the movement of goods is not restricted. This means that the price of goods should not increase. Traders should play their part to ensure adequate supply as in the current situation, users cannot travel far,” he said.
Read more: Avoid panic buying, restrict outside movement — NGO
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PETALING JAYA: Putrajaya has been urged to come down hard on middlemen who hog face masks and other personal protective equipment as the country battles the spread of the Covid-19 virus, with doctors saying they have received calls from frontliners appealing for such gear amid reports of a shortage even within the medical fraternity.
Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today the government had agreed to lower the price ceiling for face masks to RM2.Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam, Selangor president Jacob George however said face masks are currently going for RM2 to RM5 each, adding that even so, they are difficult to find on the market.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations secretary-general Paul Selvaraj agreed, saying face masks are nearly impossible to find.“Most convenience stores require customers to wear masks before entering, but there are no masks,” he told FMT.George meanwhile said he had spoken to “deep throats” in the industry who admitted to hogging goods during festive seasons.“This is the game plan,” he told FMT. “It’s not a state secret.”
Read more: FMT: Middlemen come under scrutiny as govt agrees to bring down face mask price ceiling
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LETTER | For the new government, the issue of cost of living faced by the rakyat should be a critical priority. Consumers are suffering. Incomes are low.
The living wage as proposed by Bank Negara is RM2,600 for a single adult, RM4,500 for a couple with no children and RM6,500 for a couple with two children. Yet, six million workers or 50 percent of workers in Malaysia earn less than RM2,160.Many Malaysians, especially in urban areas, feel their income is insufficient to raise their living standards. As of 2018, nearly 30 percent of Malaysians felt that they did not have enough money for food and 23 percent reported they did not have adequate money for shelter. According to Bank Negara, the cost of living has been increasing across all households but more significantly for lower-income households in urbanised states. Generally, the higher cost of living was driven by higher prices for food and housing.
The lower-income household spend more on food and housing which costs more in urbanised areas. The bottom 20 percent spend 65 percent of their household expenditure on food and housing while the bottom 40 percent spend 58 percent of their household expenditure on food and housing.Expenditure on transportation is also significant. So, for the bottom 20 percent, food, housing and transportation, accounts for 75 percent of household expenditure while for the bottom 40 percent, these three components account for 70 percent of household expenditure. Thus, to address the concerns of stagnant incomes and increasing costs of living, the government needs to address the issues of food prices, house prices and the cost of transportation.
Read more: FOMCA: Prioritise cost of living in economic planning, Dato Paul Selva Raj
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THE World Book Day on March 5 went unnoticed like a wanted criminal. Did politicking of the recent past kill the book? Or is this a sign of a dying national habit?Studies after studies show that great minds read a lot. And they read consistently, too. With them, reading is a habit. Not an occasional pursuit.What’s more, science is for the turning of pages. Reading boosts the brain and expands our intellectual horizon. Having spent enormous years living a rich life, they “book” them like an Everyman’s Guide. Call it vicarious learning.Behind every great man there is a shelf of books.But Malaysians are a difficult lot to convince when it comes to politics and books. Maybe because both are a numbers’ game.
Let’s talk about books. Literacy data revealed in 2016 tell an impressive story: 85 per cent of Malaysians read regularly. But a deep dive tells a sad story hidden behind the number. Only three per cent read books.We may be a nation of book buyers —aPicodi.com survey in 2018 showed that 76 per cent of Malaysians bought at least one book a year — but we may not be reading what we buy. Picodi also reveals a troubling fact: 24 per cent of Malaysians do not buy any books at all. With hope, they borrow to read.People in developed nations read 40 books a year, an average of three books a month. We may not be a developed nation yet, but we should not be left too far behind.There is also a gender divide in Malaysia when it comes to reading. Women get to the bottom of the page faster than men. Is that why women are, on average, better than men off the pages? Women or men, we must be a nation of readers.
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Cleanliness is something that cannot be compromised at restaurants, food courts and other eateries. It is not something just for campaign slogans or publicity but must be seen to be practised. Everyone knows the importance of cleanliness. However, the fact remains that dirty and unhygienic restaurants, food courts and eateries still exist. Some errant ones have even gone viral on social media.In fact, social media today plays an effective role in exposing eateries that do not practice cleanliness and hygiene.
On several occasions, I have witnessed dirty kitchens and toilets which make you lose your appetite.Does this reflect well on restaurant operators who pay scant regard to licensing rules and regulations?Are they aware that they are infringing sanitation and safety regulations under the Food Act 1983?Many of those preparing and serving food do not wear hairnets, gloves and aprons.No matter whether in the urban or the rural areas, many restaurants and eateries have cleanliness issues which need to be addressed.According to media reports, rats and cockroaches were found when inspections were carried out.
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