SHAH ALAM, 31 Oct: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Bureau of Consumerism received complaints that several canteens in schools around the Klang Valley has raised their price for food and drinks.
It’s Chairman, Yahya Shari, said that they received the complaint after the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Najib Razak regarding the retraction of 34 cents in sugar subsidies.
He said, apart from school canteens, stalls have increased food and drink prices, with prices charged similar to that of coffeeshops.
“We have received many complaints about stalls and school canteens increasing the price of food and drinks at their premises.
“We receive a minimum of three complaints a day on the increase in prices. However, complainants did not provide detailed information and thus, we were unable to survey,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor today.
Yahya said, there are four schools that have raised the price of food and drinks, according to complaints received from parents.
In this regard, he called on the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to monitor and take action against school canteens throughout the country so that they do not raise prices at will.
“The price of food and drink cannot be increased at will because canteen operators are bound by contract of food prices, so the government should monitor this problem.
“We also want the central government to open more opportunities in the sugar industry so as to not only provide opportunities to duopoly companies by creating price competition in the sugar market.
He also urged for consumers to lodge complaints at the PKR Bureau of Consumerism if traders take advantage by increasing prices.
Previously, the Secretary-General of the School Canteen Operators Association, Hamzah Omar, said that they will ensure that canteen operators do not increase the price of canteen food and drinks because of the increase in sugar price by 34 cents, because it is stated in their contracts that they cannot raise prices at will.
