TAWAU: The Chinese Chamber of Commerce here has urged the Government to take speedy steps to address the disparity in the prices of goods between East Malaysia and peninsular Malaysia.
Its president Datuk Yap Yiw Sin said the people in Sabah have been suffering the burden of higher prices of imported goods, including foodstuffs, for a long time mainly due to the high shipping charges and related costs.
He said the Government has promised to address the problem but there is still no sign of the promise going to be fulfilled soon.
He hoped the Government could take immediate action to standardize the prices in line with the 1Malaysia concept, so that Sabahan could enjoy real equality and better quality of life.
Meanwhile, Yap urged members of the chamber and local other entrepreneurs to explore and take advantage of the vast trade and investment opportunities created by the removal of trade barriers within Asean.
The freer flow of goods due to the elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers has opened up new opportunities and possibilities, he said during the 34th installation of the chamber on Saturday night.
The event at the community hall here also saw the 17th Institute of Science and Management (ISM) advisory committee installation, the 19th Sabah Chinese High School advisory committee installation and the 53rd Kung Ming Primary School advisory committee installation.
According to Yap, Tawau Chinese Chamber of Commerce has responsibility for the three schools in developing Chinese education.
He said the advisory boards of Sabah Chinese High School and ISM have taken the initiative to expand and upgrade ISM to a fully equipped tertiary educational institution in Tawau.
He hoped the Chinese community will fully support the initiative towards meeting the needs of the community.
Meanwhile, Datuk Koh Chun Seng, the permanent honorary president of the chamber, said ISM has been serving as a tertiary institution for children from low income families.
He said the A-Level programme provided by ISM has helped lessen the burden of low income families in terms of saving cost of sending a child abroad to take up the programme.
Pang, who also spoke at the event, said the Government is aware of the importance of education to the Chinese community and the Federal Government had addressed several concerns of the community such as giving Chinese Independent School students access to National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loans and entry to teachers training colleges as well as providing overseas scholarships to all students who scored 9A+ in SPM.