FOMCA di pentas media 2018 - 2019

Act needed to ensure safe drinking water

2018-11-15T00:41:21+00:00

SAFE drinking water is a fundamental requirement for maintaining public health and supporting healthy communities. Hence, mechanisms must be put in place to ensure that the delivery of safe drinking water is both practical and protective of public health.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) agrees with Saral James, president of the Malaysian Water Forum, that the agencies concerned are failing in their duty to provide safe water to Malaysian consumers, “Tackling issues of water safety and usage” (The Star, Oct 26).

Have better oversight of e-commerce, government urged

2018-11-15T00:37:13+00:00

PETALING JAYA: The government must step in to impose greater oversight of the online retail industry in Malaysia, the National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) said.

This, it said, was because of the numerous complaints received after the Singles’ Day Sale, also known as 11.11 sale.

NCCC, a division under the Federation of Malaysia Consumers Associations, received more than 100 complaints on the sales festival which falls on Nov 11 every year.

NCCC chief operating officer Saravanan Thambirajah said the largest number of complaints involved refund issues after an unsuccessful purchase.

3 out of 10 working M'sians had to borrow money for essential goods

2018-11-15T00:32:18+00:00

PETALING JAYA: Three out of 10 working adults have had to borrow money to buy essential goods in the past six months, a survey by the Debt Management and Counselling Agency (AKPK ) has found.

The survey also found that one out of five working adults did not manage to save money in the last six months.

AKPK CEO Azaddin Ngah Tasir said that the majority of those in these categories earned less than RM2,000 or were self-employed.

Fomca response on Budget 2019

2018-11-02T06:15:58+00:00

Budget 2019
FOMCA Response
COST OF LIVING

1. Prices of Food and Essentials
FOMCA fully supports the strengthening of enforcement by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs to bring down the prices of food and other essentials.

Further, FOMCA urges the Ministry to investigate through the Competition Commission whether there are monopolistic practices along the food supply chain. With elimination of monopolistic behaviour and liberalising the food market, consumers would benefit through lower prices, more choices and better quality.

FOMCA support the “BUY MALAYSIAN” Campaign by Government. The government should ensure value for money for the local products.

Press Statement - Touch N Go Monopoly and Impact of Consumers Well Being

2018-10-29T23:31:24+00:00

The time has come for the new government to relook at the monopoly being enjoyed by Touch N Go and its impact on consumer protection and consumer wellbeing.

As a monopoly, FOMCA strongly feels that consumers are getting a shoddy deal paying higher prices for lower quality of services. Some of the grouses of consumers include:

Instead of paying less when you use a cash card, you have to pay a surcharge up to 10%. Thus although you have already made a pre-payment, at point of use you still have to pay an additional 10%;

SST: Consumers have a choice, spend wisely - FOMCA

2018-08-28T22:25:50+00:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Consumers should exercise wise spending if they do not want to be burdened by the Sales and Service Tax (SST), to be enforced on Sept 1, although some basic essential items are exempted from the tax.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman said consumers should understand the SST concept and be able to differentiate it with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was introduced in 2015.

“Prices of certain goods maybe beyond their (consumers) expectation. Hence, they need for them to understand and know the goods that are imposed the tax and those are not,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

Mohd Yusof said the choice would be in the hands of consumers whether or not to spend as some essential items would be imposed tax, especially those categorised as luxury items.

Traders, he said, should reflect their responsibility by displaying the price of goods sold at their

“For restaurants that impose service tax, there should be a notice to inform their patrons that SST is imposed at the premises,” he added.

He also advised consumers to keep the receipts of their purchases to detect any sudden increase in prices of goods after SST.

“Keeping the purchase receipts should be made a culture to check on abuse by traders and to facilitate reports by consumers to Fomca or the Customs Department,” he added.

According to Customs director-general Datuk Seri Subromaniam Tholasy, the SST rate and the list of goods that will be exempted from the tax will be released soon.

He said the list was being finalised and would not be very much different from the one already uploaded at https://mysst.customs.gov.my.

Based on the list, essential items such as drinking water, flour, egg and several types of fish will be exempted from SST, while electrical appliances, such as washing machine and refrigerator, will have a 10 per cent SST.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said traders who did not register their businesses for the SST before Sept 1 would not face any action by the government if they had valid reasons.

He said the ministry was prepared to give the traders a bit of leeway, but the traders were warned not to misuse it.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, has given his consent to implement the Sales and Services Tax (SST), paving the way for the tax to come into effect on Sept 1.

The King’s approval on Friday last week came after the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara gave their green-light on Aug 9 and Aug 20, respectively. – BERNAMA

Financial education in Malaysia: Are we doing enough?

2018-08-26T22:31:47+00:00

More and more Malaysian consumers are getting into serious financial problems due to poor financial knowledge, wrong attitudes and poor financial habits leading to irresponsible financial behaviour. And yet, despite the overwhelming data, the government appears unwilling or unable to commit to a national strategic plan to address the issue. Current financial education efforts are fragmented, piecemeal, ad hoc and lacking a clear strategic direction.

Despite the so-called National Financial Blueprint 2011-2020, which seeks to build a “comprehensive and holistic approach towards consumer protection and education”, we still have a long way to go. FOMCA has been strongly advocating for a National Financial Education Strategy to ensure a systematic and strategic approach to financial education, to ensure that all consumers, especially those who need it most, will have access to financial information that would help develop responsible financial behaviour as well as make informed decisions on the increasingly complex financial products and services.

The macro and micro level data of the financial behaviour of Malaysian consumers is not encouraging. In 2016, the then Deputy Minister of Finance had reported that household debt stood at 89% of Gross Domestic Product. It had been reported that this was the highest household debt to the gross domestic product in Asia. A high level of debt increases the sensitivity to households to any shock of their incomes. Next, the level of savings of Malaysian households is low. According to the Malaysian Human Development report, 53% of Malaysian households have no financial assets while 88% of households reported zero savings. Further, income levels of Malaysian consumers are low. According to Khazanah Research Institute, for individuals, the median salary is RM1,700 per month. Further, 62% of active Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members earn less than RM2,000 while 25% of EPF members earn a monthly salary below the poverty line of RM930.

The number of consumers being declared bankrupt and those seeking assistance from the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) are also increasing. A total of 294,000 consumers have been declared bankrupt due to failure to settle their car loans, hire-purchase loans, credit card loans, personal loans, housing loans and social guarantor debts. 70% of those declared bankrupt were individuals between the ages of 35 and 45. Since the formation of AKPK in 2006, 619,000 consumers have attended AKPK’s counselling services and out of this number 195,000 have enrolled in their debt management programmes. Out of the 195,000, AKPK assisted 14,000 to fully settle their debts totalling RM593 million. According to AKPK’s statistics, the major reason faced by clients was poor financial planning.

Studies have also been conducted on the financial behaviour of young workers. In their study, the Asian Institute of Finance (AIF) found that 75% of consumers aged 20 to 33 had at least one long-term debt and 37% had more than one long-term debt. To offset this, respondents were relying on high cost borrowings that 47% were engaged in expensive credit card borrowing while 38% reported taking personal loans. FOMCA in their own study found that 47% of young workers were excessively indebted. The AIF report further indicated that 70% were living beyond their means.

The respondents in the AIF study were also not confident of their financial knowledge. Only 28% of the respondents felt confident with their financial knowledge. The report also suggested that young workers have little knowledge on how to make wise purchasing decisions.

Interestingly, the AIF study found that there was a positive correlation between financial knowledge and responsible financial behaviours. That is those with higher financial knowledge saved and invested more than those with low financial knowledge.

Another study was conducted by Universiti Putra Malaysia on young workers between the ages of 20 and 40 in five public housing areas in and around Kuala Lumpur. Most of the incomes of the respondents were below RM3,000. Their incomes were barely sufficient to cover expenses with nothing left to save. Further, some of the problems being faced by the young workers were late bill payments (88.9%), spending beyond their means (69.8%), not enough money for medicines (61.1%), lack of cash to face emergencies (58.1%), inability to pay instalments (55.7%), borrowing from family and friends (55.4%), the need to borrow to buy basic food items (48.9%) and borrowing from loan sharks (22.3%). 19.4% declared that they were facing bankruptcy procedures. There were also personal consequences because of financial problems. 72% reported being depressed, 56.6% reported that they could not concentrate on their work and 57.5% reported that they have regular arguments with their spouses.

Clearly consumers, especially young workers and young families, lack the knowledge and skills to manage their finances responsibly. Thus, FOMCA has since 2011 been advocating for stronger policy and programme initiatives towards empowering consumers through a strategic approach in financial education. In 2011, we launched the Financial Literacy Month, celebrated annually in October to create awareness among both policymakers and consumers on the importance of financial education programmes. FOMCA has also been involved in various financial education initiatives including publication of a monthly financial education bulletin, financial education programmes at pre-school, primary and secondary schools, institutions of higher learning, worker organisations, women organisations and low and middle income communities. FOMCA has also used mainstream and social media to strongly create awareness and empower consumers through financial literacy programmes.

Current approaches to financial education in Malaysia are fragmented and ad-hoc, without any clear direction. At another level, FOMCA has been strongly advocating for a National Financial Education Strategy, where we could clearly plan Malaysia’s way forward to ensure that all Malaysians, especially those in most need, have access to financial education opportunities. The National Financial Strategy would seek to undertake financial literacy programmes to assist Malaysians to develop the knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes to make informed decisions, manage their money day-to-day and to plan for their financial future.

FOMCA has been involved in a number of stakeholder engagements to push for financial education to be given priority as a vital national agenda. We have yet to see it being given the priority it deserves.

FOMCA sincerely hopes that the new Government places the empowerment of consumers as a key national agenda. Failing which, we fear even more Malaysians would get into serious financial problems not only affecting themselves but their families, the community and the nation. Both at the macro level and micro level, Malaysia needs consumers who effectively manage their consumption and their finances responsibly to enhance both personal and community well-being.

Professor Dr Marimuthu Nadason is the president of FOMCA.

Services Tax: Why are food trucks being taxed, asks consumer groups

2018-08-08T01:56:57+00:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Consumer groups have urged the government to exclude services used by the people on a daily basis from the Services Tax, as they fear that it could lead to higher cost of living.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (FOMCA) deputy president, Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman, said services which cover daily necessities such as food should not be taxed.

“Take food trucks, for example. If these are taxed too, it will indirectly lead to higher food prices. The people will feel the effects.

“This is a major concern among many as cost of living is a subject close to the people’s hearts. In fact, Pakatan Harapan (PH) had before this pledged to tackle cost of living so that it doesn’t burden the people,” he said.

Mohd Yusof said the government need to review the list of taxable services as it could have a direct impact on the people.

Pertubuhan Mesra Pengguna Malaysia (PMPM) deputy president, Azlin Othman, shared the same view and urged the government to review the list of taxable services.

“Even though the GST (Goods and Services Tax) is now zero-rated, the prices of goods including food have yet to go down. My concern is that if they are not exempted, the prices of goods will continue to rise,” she said.

She said if the government is keen on implementing the tax, then tax on services used by the people daily should be reduced to one per cent, as opposed to the proposed six per cent.

“The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry should also play a more serious role in monitoring traders to ensure that they do not take advantage of the situation to the extent that it burdens the people,” she said.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, in tabling the Services Tax 2018 bill for its second reading in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday, said services which would undergo improvements and tax unformity measures include restaurants which also encompass catering, takeaways, food trucks and others.

However, such businesses would only be taxed if they generate annual sales of RM1 million.

Article from https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/08/399355/services-tax-why-are-food-trucks-being-taxed-asks-consumer-groups

Better Healthcare for Consumers

2018-08-06T07:44:37+00:00

The public healthcare system though often touted as one of the best healthcare systems in the world is facing several critical challenges. Three of the biggest challenges are not enough beds in hospitals resulting in patients, though need to be warded, are being turned away. This has severe consequences for low income consumers, for if they are unable to get access to public healthcare, are forced to go to private hospitals, which would severely affect their financial wellbeing. Secondly, patients have to wait long periods to meet the specialist, due to shortage of specialists as well as lack of appropriate facilities. Thirdly, often due to no stock, consumers are directed to purchase their own medicines.

There is clearly under-investment in pubic healthcare. Health expenditure is a mere 4.4% of Gross Domestic Product, while the World Health Organisation suggests expenditures of up to 7% of GDP. 65% of the population use the public health sector but is served by only 45% of registered doctors and about 25% of specialists. This under-investment in healthcare has severe consequences to the welfare of the Malaysian consumer.

Private healthcare is exorbitantly expensive. Prices are not

Reducing Food Prices – Empowering Consumers

2018-07-30T17:46:32+00:00

FOMCA fully supports the concrete actions of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs to address the pressing cost of living issues being faced by consumers, especially low and middle income consumers. Firstly, a full market review of the food supply chain needs to be undertaken. The analysis would indicate the extent of monopolistic behaviours, either through local players in the local food supply chain or through the approved permits systems for imported foods. Next, the government should use the full provisions of the Competition Act, 2010, to take stern actions against traders or groups of traders in the supply chain practicing any form of monopolistic behaviour to manipulate and overcharge consumers to make excessive profits. Similarly, all food approved permits for imported need to be eliminated to promote free trade that would ensure lower prices, higher quality and more choices for consumers. The Ministry had reported that 297 companies were holding APs for importing food items. It is time to eliminate this practice, once and for all.

Next, the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act, 2010, needs to be strictly enforced to ensure that all forms of price manipulation and overcharging of consumers, to make excessive profits, is eliminated. Traders certainly have the right to “normal” profits; however, making excessive profits for essential foods will result in great suffering to especially low income consumers.

The Ministry can also further examine and strengthen the Pasar Malam/Pagi mechanism to facilitate the direct movement of food from farmer to consumer. Through eliminating the middle-men and their exploitative practices, farmers benefit from higher prices and consumers benefit through fresher goods and lower prices.

Further, Malaysia needs to take concrete steps to increase food production to be more self-sufficient. Malaysia’s food import bill has been steadily increasing, form RM 26.3 billion in 2009 to RM 45.4 billion in 2015. Previously, there has been an excessive focus on cash crops such as oil palm and rubber. Food production has often been neglected. Malaysia thus is only self-sufficient in chicken, fish, eggs and pork. Thus all the other essential foods are imported. Further, animal feed is also heavily imported affecting the price of the sold farm animals. There thus needs to be serious attempts to ensure food availability and food affordability. The government needs to re-emphasise the production of food in Malaysia to bring down the costs of living.

The government should also focus on consumer education to empower consumers to change their attitude, skills and knowledge to be more prudent consumers. Focus should also be on financial education to empower consumers to better manage their consumption, savings and their credit.

Addressing the cost of living is the responsibility of both the government and the consumers. The government needs to undertake programs and policies to bring down the costs while consumers need to better manage their consumption and better manage their finances in this challenging economic environment.