2325) THE MALAY MAIL - 06/01/2015 - Clamp Down On Irresponsible Traders, Consumer Group Tells Putrajaya

Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) chief activist Datuk Nadzim Johan speaks to members of the media. — Picture by Melissa Chi

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — A Muslim consumer group urged the government today to enforce the Competition Act 2010 and clamp down on unscrupulous traders who had raised prices unnecessarily.

Muslim Consumers Association's (PPIM) Datuk Nadzim Johan said the new law has to be enforced for the sake of consumers.

Some traders had raised prices even before the goods and services tax (GST) is implemented and more recently, prices had gone up to more than 100 per cent purportedly because the floods that had hit the nation, he said.

"This is not good culture because the traders don't have ethics and the government need to be more stern in taking action.

"We ask the government to look at a few things regarding prices that affect consumers," he told reporters at the Abu Ubaidah Al-Jarrah Mosque in Setapak.

Nadzim said the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry must identify and impose fines on traders who are taking advantage of the situation, through the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC), which was established to enforce the Competition Act 2010.

“We will protest if MyCC doesn’t take action.

“We will have a big scale campaign and people will back us up because this is about consumer rights,” he said.

According to some traders, vegetable prices had to rise because supply has been disrupted by recent floods.


Credit : http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/clamp-down-on-irresponsible-traders-consumer-group-tells-putrajaya