DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today hit out at Barisan Nasional (BN) for its refusal to acknowledge the impact of the rising cost of living on Malaysians.

“For Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan and BN ministers to deny that the poor do not have any money to spend, that retail sales have dropped because (basic goods) are costlier, I think you are being insensitive, 

“You still don’t feel (for the people) and have no sympathy, no empathy for the struggle the lower income group and the poor (are experiencing),” Lim said at the launch of DAP’s online merchandise store at party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, today.

The Pakatan Harapan deputy president was responding to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s statement that the decline in hypermarket sales was not reflective of the double digit growth in retail sales for the first three quarters of last year.

Rahman was refuting Mydin managing director Ameer Ali Medin’s recent comment that supermarkets are recording lower sales due to the people’s lower purchasing power.

Lim today said the positive retail numbers Rahman cited, which would include figures for the sale of luxury goods, were not relevant to ordinary Malaysians.

“Of course if you can afford to buy ‘cincin’ and Hermes handbags, (the ising cost of living is) not a problem (to you), but I’m not talking about those (people). 

“We’re talking about ordinary people. You want to quote all these numbers, does it matter to wage earners?” said Lim.

He said the federal government should take Ameer’s comments seriously as supermarkets such as Mydin were frequented by lower- and middle-income households.

Ameer had said in an interview with radio station BFM that the prices of groceries had gone up. For example, he said, in the last five year, Cameron cabbages had gone up by 29%; ikan kembung hiram, 19.5%; Mangi brand chilli sauce, 38.8%; and ayam brand sardine, 30.6%.

“These are the numbers that matter…. Rahman Dahlan he is talking about macro numbers. It doesn’t matter (to ordinary people).

“These are foods eaten by lower-income groups, and they have gone up so high. Don’t be an ostrich in the sand,” said Lim.

He challenged Prime Minister Najib Razak to take the Light Rail Transit and ask the passengers if they have enough money to spend.

“Mydin is not pro-opposition, you know; Mydin is pro-Najib. He is stating a fact. Do a study-lah, don’t go and start banging him (Ameer),” said Lim.

He said the federal government must acknowledge the negative impact of the goods and services tax (GST), introduced in April 2015, on the people.

“It’s the ordinary people who are suffering, not only in Kuala Lumpur, but throughout Malaysia.

“Because of GST, business is difficult, and people don’t have enough to spend.” – February 8, 2018.