Mixed Reaction To Boycott Of Pricier Goods

KUALA LUMPUR,-- There is mixed reaction to the proposal by Cuepacs and MTUC for the public to boycott pricier goods during the festive season.Taxi driver Zahren Zainal, 32, said the boycott would not benefit any party.

"Whether there is a hike or drop in prices of goods, I still have to buy them because they are essential items," he told Bernama here today.He said consumers could save cost by buying pricier goods in small quantities.

However, civil servant Norlaili Ahmad, 51, believed that the boycott could be a lesson for traders who took advantage of the festive season by indiscriminately increasing prices of goods.She said the price hikes burdened consumers, especially the low-income earners."Traders take advantage of the festive season by increasing prices due to high demand for the goods," she added.

Meanwhile, retailer Mohd Ismail Mustapa, 50, said essential items at his shop were sold at normal prices like flour at RM1.90 per kg and RM2.50 for a 1kg packet of cooking oil.He said despite some traders increasing prices, the profit margin was small because business was slow as they had to compete with the hypermarkets which offered goods at more competitive prices."Consumers are smart. They buy their essential needs at hypermarkets which offer goods at bargain price," he added.

Cuepacs and MTUC will be launching the boycott campaign at the Sungai Besi toll plaza tomorrow.Meanwhile, in KOTA KINABALU, the Consumer Association of Sabah and Labuan (Cash) is sceptical that the boycott could curb price increases of essential goods."Such campaigns had been done before, even by Cash, but they failed to meet the objective due to the lack of support from consumers themselves," said its president Datuk Patrick Sindu.

"We notice that most of the goods listed by Cuepacs and MTUC to be boycotted are food items. People consume or use the items on a daily basis. So, for how long can they boycott these essentials?"Nevertheless, we support the campaign," he added.

Sindu said a more effective method to check price hikes would be to "flood" the market with cheap imports, giving local producers and retailers stiff competition and forcing them to sell their goods at reasonable prices.

He also wants Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal to be tougher in dealing with the price hikes which were burdening consumers."Don't have to come up with statements like `the government will not hesitate to import food if producers and retailers refuse to cooperate'. Just do it."This will teach them to be more socially responsible and ethical," he said.

-- BERNAMA