SHAH ALAM, 2 Sept: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) wants the Federal Government to provide incentives to help ease the burdens of the people which have been increasing in tabling the Budget 2015.
It is due to the increase in the prices of basic food items that the people have to face, causing them to face pressure in their financial saving in the future.
The Deputy President of FOMCA, Mohd Yusof Bin Abdul Rahman, said that the problem faced currently makes it difficult for the people to make additional savings and involves the lower income group.
He said that almost 70 percent of monthly income is user to buy basic food items while the rest is used for other purposes, including the cost of childcare, transportation, medical care and education.
“We found that when the cost of food rises, it will definitely cause most of the income to be used on food, especially for most of the low and middle income groups.
“When most of the income is used for food, perhaps the balance (income) of 30 to 40 percent is used for other things like, for urban areas, the cost of transportation, medicine and education.
“This will burden those who do not have sufficient money,” he told Selangor Kini.
Based on the analysis made by FOMCA through the Consumer Price Index released by the National Statistics Department, they found that the people will indeed face an increase in food expenses.
He explained that most parents now are facing difficulties especially in terms of their children’s education expenses, especially during the start of the school session and their children’s entry into institutions of higher learning.
He said that these difficulties lead to parents taking out financial loans while waiting for their children to obtain scholarships or receiving the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loan.
The Malaysian Insider reported that the official inflation rate may be 3.5 percent, but the people have begun to complain on increases of basic food items and meat, forcing them to reduce purchases of food at the same price they bought months ago.
Families with incomes below RM3,000 say that they now eat less chicken, seafood and beef in the past six months.
NS
