SHAH ALAM, 18 Jan: The establishment of the Special Committee to Address Rising Cost of Living announced by the Federal Government is deemed to be ‘too late’ and that it is just to placate the people following the dramatic increase in price of goods.
The Central PAS Working Committee Member, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, said that the special committee will not be able to handle the increase in cost of living as long as the national financial administration does not change and the practice of monopoly (direct negotiations) still plagues the government.
He said that the federal government finally realised their action of withdrawing several subsidies, especially fuel and sugar, as well as increasing the electricity tariff and also public transportation rates that will trigger a ‘terrible’ inflation even though it is too late.
“It is unfortunate that all this was not thought of earlier and it proves the level of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) concern which often touts the ‘People First’ slogan.
“Even though this committee is comprehensive, it is not capable of addressing the root of the increases as long as financial transactions are not fixed and monopoly still takes place, coupled with the biased concessions are unresolved,” he told Selangor Kini today.
Earlier, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, announced that a special committee will be set up to address the rising cost of living and the increase in price of goods.
The committee is being established to prove the concern of cabinet ministers about the problems of the people in effort to control the increases involved.
Dr Dzulkefly said that the federal government should not have triggered the increase in price simultaneously since forecasts indicate that the consumer price index (CPI) will increase from 3.3 percent to 3.5 percent in 2015.
He said that economic experts predict that many more Malaysians will be bankrupt in a day and it may come true.
“The federal government should consider in advance the impact of the rising cost of living and not to act uncertainly.
“The Prime Minister and his cabinet are like sick people. They trigger a problem then try to find a cure to solve it,” he said.
