PENAMPANG: Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid yesterday launched the state-level Price Reduction Campaign that would see 15 per cent to 70 per cent price reductions in about 82,000 retail products in over 1,000 selected supermarkets and hypermarkets nationwide.
The campaign was initiated by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK).
“In Sabah, several supermarkets and hypermarkets are participating in this campaign such as The Store, Giant, Milimewa Superstore, Pacific Hypermarket, Servay Supermarket and 99 Speedmart.
“The government will continue to monitor more supermarkets and hypermarkets to join this campaign because it will be an ongoing event that will see selected products to take turns in cutting price during the reduction campaign,” she said at a press conference after launching the event at Milimewa Superstore at Bundusan, Penampang.
Jainab stressed that the campaign would help to ease the burden of the consumers, and at the same time to prove that the government is serious in addressing this issue.
Earlier in her speech, she also advised consumers to use their 3M power, which is to ‘memilih’, ‘memboikot’ and ‘melapor’ (choose, boycott and report) against greedy traders who are reluctant to reduce prices of their goods or services despite the drop in fuel price.
The 3M, she said, was the most powerful rights that the consumers can use to get quality goods at reasonable prices.
“Consumers have the right to choose which store they want to shop, and they also have the right to boycott traders making hefty profit.
“It is the time for the consumers to use the social media to share the prices of goods with their families and friends so that everyone will have the choice to go for the cheaper price. However, sharing information must be accompanied by proof and it must be done in a responsible way,” she said.
Jainab added that the consumers need to know their rights to report if there were traders making unreasonably high profits from selling goods or services.
“Both the federal and state governments are seriously enforcing the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 against traders who increase prices of goods at their whims and fancies,” she said.
The Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 is not restricted to price-controlled goods or services.
If the offence is committed by a company, it will be liable to a maximum fine of RM500,000 and for a second or subsequent offence, up to RM1,000,000. A director of a company may also be charged severly or jointly with the company.
If the offence is committed by an individual, he or she is liable to a maximum fine of RM100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both and, for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of up to RM250,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both.
Meanwhile, Jainab also revealed that KPDNKK received a total of 14,089 complaints in 2014 through its Centre for Consumer Complaints Management.
She added that 13,507 complaints were successfully solved, or 95.87 per cent of the total complaints received last year.
Present at the event yesterday were Sabah KPDNKK director Severinus Tukah and Sabah Milimewa Superstore Sdn Bhd assistant general manager Yeoh Seng Hoe.