>>>> Traders and hawkers getting away with high food prices - from thestar.com.my
Orginally by: VALLEY VIEW WITH TOMMY LEE
Orginally by: VALLEY VIEW WITH TOMMY LEE
I have endured reckless taxi drivers cutting into my path or slowing down in search of customers along congested roads.
Then there are the ruthless ones who overcharge or take you on a whirlwind tour of the city so that their taxi meters show a higher rate.
But for all these bad things we say about them, I sometimes sympathise with them for the hardship they endure to put food on the table for their families.
Not only do they have to put up with the scorching sun or pelting rain and hours of weaving through massive traffic jams, they also risk being robbed and in some cases also murdered by their passengers.
This is the stark reality that cabbies have to go through to make ends meet. I have yet to step into a taxi and not have to listen to the driver complaining of the high cost of food nowadays.
They are very mindful of the RM40 to RM50 daily rental fee for their vehicles which are leased from consortiums. On bad days, after deducting expenses, they could still be short of money to pay for the rental.
How are they going to survive if they have a family to feed. Their story is typical of the many poor families who have their finances stretched to the limit or in the worse scenario have none to stretch at all.
Sometimes I do not blame the desperate cabbies who resort to unethical ways to run up their meters as they need to ensure there is food on the table for their families.
Most cabbies are glad if they can take home RM100 a day after deducting costs which included the rental, petrol and other incidentals. Besides the lease of their vehicles, they also have to take care of repair bills and replace worn out tyres.
Penangites like me who have moved down to the Klang Valley have found the price of food quite difficult to swallow.
The char koey teow, chicken rice, and wantan noodles here are not only ummatchable in terms of taste, the price is also higher.
A plate of char koey teow here costs between RM4.50 and RM6 whereas in Penang, I could enjoy a much tastier plate for much less or at the same price but with keh leow” (more ingredients).
Just last week, I had a plate of nasi kandar and I nearly choked when the bill came to RM10.10. On the plate, was a small piece of chicken, a tiny slice of fish, a hard boiled egg and two ladies fingers.
When I asked if they were aware that other nasi kandar operators were lowering prices, he gave me a blank stare.
I paid the bill and told myself never to return to this outlet again.
If food prices continue to increase or remain expensive, the cost of living would definitely spiral upwards. There will come a day when we have to pay RM8 to RM10 for a plate of our favourite char koey teow.
But the government is hardly doing anything to get food prices down other than getting the big merchants like Giant and Tesco hypermarkets to lower their prices. The reply from Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad is most amusing.
He has the audacity to ask consumers to be patient with the current high cost of goods. How can one be patient when your baby is crying because she is hungry?
I have been living and working in the Klang valley for 10 months now and having been pampered by the good food which are much cheaper back home, it is difficult to adjust to living in this city.
While I am still coming to terms with having to pay almost double for my breakfast, lunch and dinner and even after the several reduction in fuel price, there do not seem to be any cut in the cost of food and services.
Being a bachelor is also no consolation as expenses are much higher being alone as you cannot share expenses with anyone.
I used to pay RM1 per piece for my shirt or trouser pants to be pressed but now it costs me RM1.50 per piece - a whopping increase of 50%.
Expensive dinners and lunches are things of the past for me at the moment, and boozing with friends is now kept to a minimum so much so that I am now dubbed anti-social.
With such gloomy times looming, a mechanism should be set in place to check price increases, especially for food items.
Traders and hawkers increase prices at their whims and fancy because there are no clear guideline or mechanism to check abuses of profiteering.
It is disappointing for Shahrir to say that he is willing to give the benefit of the doubt to traders who do not lower the prices of goods despite the petrol price reductions.
He seems to be siding with the manufacturers who explained that prices of goods will only come down around the first quarter of next year as they are still using materials bought previously.
Come on Mr Minister, your ministry can do better than to side with traders who were quick to respond to petrol price increases. They literally increase prices overnight.
There had been five downward revisions of the pump price of petrol since the 78 sen increase in June but food prices still remain high.
A colleague who used to pay RM1.10 for a cup of tea in Section 14, Petaling Jaya, before the fuel increase says it costs RM1.30 now. This is almost a 20% increase.
The government should seriously consider some price control initiatives if it has the welfare of people at heart.
You can never, never find shopkeepers or hawkers who would voluntarily lower the prices of goods unless there is pressure from the government.
The various agencies or ministries concerned should get their people to go to the ground to check on food prices and any unnecessary increases should see these trades hauled up and punished.
Mr Minister, spare us the excuses and get the whip cracking
Then there are the ruthless ones who overcharge or take you on a whirlwind tour of the city so that their taxi meters show a higher rate.
But for all these bad things we say about them, I sometimes sympathise with them for the hardship they endure to put food on the table for their families.
Not only do they have to put up with the scorching sun or pelting rain and hours of weaving through massive traffic jams, they also risk being robbed and in some cases also murdered by their passengers.
This is the stark reality that cabbies have to go through to make ends meet. I have yet to step into a taxi and not have to listen to the driver complaining of the high cost of food nowadays.
They are very mindful of the RM40 to RM50 daily rental fee for their vehicles which are leased from consortiums. On bad days, after deducting expenses, they could still be short of money to pay for the rental.
How are they going to survive if they have a family to feed. Their story is typical of the many poor families who have their finances stretched to the limit or in the worse scenario have none to stretch at all.
Sometimes I do not blame the desperate cabbies who resort to unethical ways to run up their meters as they need to ensure there is food on the table for their families.
Most cabbies are glad if they can take home RM100 a day after deducting costs which included the rental, petrol and other incidentals. Besides the lease of their vehicles, they also have to take care of repair bills and replace worn out tyres.
Penangites like me who have moved down to the Klang Valley have found the price of food quite difficult to swallow.
The char koey teow, chicken rice, and wantan noodles here are not only ummatchable in terms of taste, the price is also higher.
A plate of char koey teow here costs between RM4.50 and RM6 whereas in Penang, I could enjoy a much tastier plate for much less or at the same price but with keh leow” (more ingredients).
Just last week, I had a plate of nasi kandar and I nearly choked when the bill came to RM10.10. On the plate, was a small piece of chicken, a tiny slice of fish, a hard boiled egg and two ladies fingers.
When I asked if they were aware that other nasi kandar operators were lowering prices, he gave me a blank stare.
I paid the bill and told myself never to return to this outlet again.
If food prices continue to increase or remain expensive, the cost of living would definitely spiral upwards. There will come a day when we have to pay RM8 to RM10 for a plate of our favourite char koey teow.
But the government is hardly doing anything to get food prices down other than getting the big merchants like Giant and Tesco hypermarkets to lower their prices. The reply from Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad is most amusing.
He has the audacity to ask consumers to be patient with the current high cost of goods. How can one be patient when your baby is crying because she is hungry?
I have been living and working in the Klang valley for 10 months now and having been pampered by the good food which are much cheaper back home, it is difficult to adjust to living in this city.
While I am still coming to terms with having to pay almost double for my breakfast, lunch and dinner and even after the several reduction in fuel price, there do not seem to be any cut in the cost of food and services.
Being a bachelor is also no consolation as expenses are much higher being alone as you cannot share expenses with anyone.
I used to pay RM1 per piece for my shirt or trouser pants to be pressed but now it costs me RM1.50 per piece - a whopping increase of 50%.
Expensive dinners and lunches are things of the past for me at the moment, and boozing with friends is now kept to a minimum so much so that I am now dubbed anti-social.
With such gloomy times looming, a mechanism should be set in place to check price increases, especially for food items.
Traders and hawkers increase prices at their whims and fancy because there are no clear guideline or mechanism to check abuses of profiteering.
It is disappointing for Shahrir to say that he is willing to give the benefit of the doubt to traders who do not lower the prices of goods despite the petrol price reductions.
He seems to be siding with the manufacturers who explained that prices of goods will only come down around the first quarter of next year as they are still using materials bought previously.
Come on Mr Minister, your ministry can do better than to side with traders who were quick to respond to petrol price increases. They literally increase prices overnight.
There had been five downward revisions of the pump price of petrol since the 78 sen increase in June but food prices still remain high.
A colleague who used to pay RM1.10 for a cup of tea in Section 14, Petaling Jaya, before the fuel increase says it costs RM1.30 now. This is almost a 20% increase.
The government should seriously consider some price control initiatives if it has the welfare of people at heart.
You can never, never find shopkeepers or hawkers who would voluntarily lower the prices of goods unless there is pressure from the government.
The various agencies or ministries concerned should get their people to go to the ground to check on food prices and any unnecessary increases should see these trades hauled up and punished.
Mr Minister, spare us the excuses and get the whip cracking
