THE cost of living in the country is high and is unlikely to drop despite Putrajaya’s efforts to bring down the prices of goods, consumer groups and activists said.

They acknowledged government efforts to lower the prices but this was not likely to bear any fruit as long as Malaysia remained dependent on imports.

They urged Putrajaya to have a concrete plan, including expanding land for agricultural purposes, to solve cost of living issues.

In April, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said dependence on middlemen should be reduced in an effort to control the prices of goods in the country.

He added the prices of goods could also be controlled if middlemen took only reasonable profits.

Citing the Agro Rahmah sales as an example, he said vegetables and wet goods sold under the programme were cheaper because middlemen were not involved.

However, speaking to The Malaysian Insight, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca), Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) agreed that Putrajaya has yet to bring down the prices of goods despite taking several initiatives.

Fomca deputy secretary-general Nor Asyikin Aminudin said her organisation has been receiving a lot of complaints from the public, especially during Hari Raya.

“The prices of some goods did not go down. 

“Certain items with less supply but higher demand will see a price hike. We need to stabilise demand and supply so prices won’t go up too much,” she added.

PSM secretary-general A. Sivarajan, on the other hand, urged Malaysia to be less dependent on imports.

He added that Putrajaya must look for more local products if it is serious about bringing down the prices of goods.

“The issue is not new. The same situation has happened since Covid-19 and we didn’t manage to bring the prices down. This is because we depend too much on imported goods.

“We do not have a alternate plan to replace the imported goods with our own. That is why the prices are high,” he said.

The activist added that the government was only able to maintain the prices, but unable to lower them.

“The relevant ministry has to do something about this. A long-term plan on how to tackle cost of living issues is needed. If we continue importing, of course we cannot reduce the price,” he added.

Open up more land for agriculture

As for PPIM’s Nadzim Johan, Putrajaya must allow more agricultural land to be opened up.

Agreeing with Sivarajan, Nadzim said the problem has been ongoing for years and there’s no long-term plan to improve the situation.

“We been importing from Indonesia, Thailand and other neighbouring countries for items we can produce on our own. 

“If we can produce lemongrass, turmeric, ginger and others on our own with the lands we have, we can control the price and bring it down.

“As of now, there is no improvement. Whenever the festive season comes things will be expensive. It will drop a little after it ends but it will go up again.

“We need to maintain the price, and make sure it is not expensive. This can only happen if we have a good plan. The government and the people have to play the role,” he said.

In February, a survey from UCSI University showed 89% of respondents were “very concerned” about the escalating cost of living as it bites deep into their income.

Inflation had risen by 0.8%, from 2.5% in 2021 to 3.3% last year, the Statistics Department said.

In the survey on Malaysians aged 18 and above, it also found that 61% of the respondents did not think the government was doing enough to address the matter.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the global food price index post-Covid had risen from 95.1 in 2019 to 143.7 by end-2022. – May 14, 2023.