FORMER Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) chairman Daim Zainuddin is talking to local cooperatives in a bid to find the best solution to break the monopoly of middlemen in business, especially in the small industries.

He hoped to find a solution in the next couple of months.

“Hopefully, in the next couple of months, we will be able to do it (break the middlemen monopoly),” he said on the sidelines of the ISIS PRAXIS Conference 2019 in Kuala Lumpur today.

Daim was the speaker for the last session of the two-day conference, entitled ISIS PRAXIS Conference 2019 Wrap-up Chat: Reflection, Insights and Ways Forward, which was moderated by Bernama chairman Azman Ujang.

Daim said fishermen in villages do not enjoy the actual profit from their hard work as the middlemen took advantage of them.

He gave an example where rural fishermen sold freshly caught mackerel at around RM7 per kg to middlemen, but the middlemen re-sold the fish at RM22 per-kg in urban areas for a hefty profit. 

Both fishermen and the consumers according to him, were not happy with the price of mackerel they got with the middlemen enjoying the most monetary benefit from the hike-up price.  

Asked on the role of education, he said parents cannot depend on teachers alone.

“Families need to be involved too. It shouldn’t be about getting degrees but also to teach children to think, solve problems, be confident and be able to compete,” he said.

Meanwhile, on press freedom, Daim said that there was a lot of freedom after the Pakatan Harapan government took over. 

“People are free to say what they like, and there is a proposal to set up a media council which is good. For those in the media, what they experienced in the previous regime won’t be repeated again but the press also needs to be responsible,” he added.

The two-day conference themed “Malaysia Beyond 2020” was officiated by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday. – Bernama, October 22, 2019.