SIBU: The Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (MDTCC) advised the public never to spill out their personal information to strangers at shopping malls to avoid being misused by others.
Its Sibu branch chief, Balraj Singh, warned shoppers not be easily coaxed by the sweet words of these marketing staff.
“Don’t even let them take a photograph of you because you never know what they will do with it later. As for personal documents such as MyKad or even credit cards, never surrender to them for photocopying.
“What if your personal documents are being misused by unscrupulous people for something? By the time you find out, you may be in a whole host of trouble,” he cautioned yesterday.
He did not discount the possibility that credit cards can be swiped without their knowledge.
For that, he advised them to be a smart consumer and take necessary precautions.
“If you are forced to surrender your personal documents or harassed by promoters, lodge a police report,” Balraj advised.
Meanwhile, he praised the move by Sibu Coffee Shop and Restaurant Owners’ Association not to hike prices of drinks despite the costlier price of sugar.
He described it as a positive approach to avoid burdening consumers.
Towards this end, Balraj said they would beef up checking on outlets offering cheap sale in view of the influx of outstation workers expected next week.
“We will also be checking on public transport providers to ensure that they do not hike their fares indiscriminately to burden the people,” he said.
He also advised consumers to spend within their means and avoid getting in debts.
A local retailer, surnamed Ng, gave the thumbs-up to the ministry for promptly responding to consumers’ complaints.
“The way I see it, they (MDTCC) are a very active ministry in protecting the rights of consumers. They are always on the ground to keep tabs of the market situation.
“We truly appreciate their people-centric service,” he said.
A construction worker, known only as Stephen, praised the ministry for their pro-activeness to weed out unhealthy business practices.
“I always see their enforcement officers carrying out checks and this will go a long way to keep unscrupulous traders at bay,” he said.