IT has been nine months since Pakatan Harapan took federal power, but unfortunately, the high cost of living continues to haunt the people. Pre-14th general election, the goods and services tax was solely blamed for causing prices to spike, and promises were made that with its abolition, prices will come down, but nothing materialised.

The situation has become worse. People continue to lament that they find it difficult to make ends meet. Councils have been set up to look into the issue, the latest being the Economic Action Council (EAC), but we doubt that even EAC will be able to tackle it, definitely not at a time when wages are kept artificially low, compounded by the weak value of the ringgit against the US dollar.

We are sure the government knows that by increasing wages, cost-of-living concerns can be mitigated, but at the same time, we risk losing our export competitiveness. The government knows that by strengthening the value of the ringgit, imported inflation can be checked as we depend a lot on food imports, but at the same time, we risk losing revenue. The government knows that we are actually trapped in this situation, but the least we expect is for the government to be honest and come clean on the issue.

Many are already cash-strapped, if not gradually getting there. No financial management education can help when there is not enough in the pocket. To better understand the reality, all we need to do is look at the CTOS, CCRIS and Insolvency Department’s databases, and the actual picture will appear with great clarity.

The prime minister previously said raising wages is not a good idea as the cost of goods will rise in tandem, but don’t we already have the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act to keep this in check? Officers can easily determine if there are elements of profiteering.

While the individuals appointed to the newly established EAC are perfect to look into economic issues, none is able to appreciate the actual reality. Therefore, it is surprising that representation from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry has been left out. Who else in the government is able to appreciate the pulse of the people better than the ministry, which deals with consumer issues on a daily basis? The ministry becomes a convenient target of the people when discussing price issues, but when it comes to decision-making, it has been left out. We don’t think this is being fair and honest!

To help tackle cost-of-living issues, what the country desperately needs is a robust policy framework capable of increasing the disposable income of those in the B40 and M40 categories, with B40 folk further supported by social security initiatives. The rich can be taxed higher, but please stop telling us that the country is debt-laden. The time for sugarcoated public relations-centric political statements is over.

We have not seen much output from the PH government to date, but we will continue to keep our fingers crossed. The setting up of high-level councils was also done by the previous government. – February 13, 2019.

* Darshan Singh Dhillon is president of the Malaysia Consumers Movement.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.