Motor insurance issues to be sorted out
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Monday, 10 May 2021
PETALING JAYA: Motor insurance practices that are allegedly unfair to consumers are now being sorted out by the authorities and the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca).These alleged practices include failure to cover the full amount of repair costs quoted, lengthy claim settlements that drag on for months and refusal to compensate consumers for loss of use of the vehicle.
Fomca said Bank Negara must protect consumers in such situations.
“Bank Negara has contacted us, saying it took such matters seriously and is reviewing the issues.
“They have asked us for more information on specific cases and the points we have raised in order for them to respond, ” National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) senior manager Baskaran Sithamparam said when contacted.
NCCC is a centre under Fomca that deals with consumers’ complaints.
Baskaran said Fomca has requested for a meeting with Bank Negara to discuss matters involving motor insurance.
Between January and March, a total of 86 complaints on motor insurance and workshops were received by Fomca through the NCCC.
“From 2019 to 2020, we received 1,354 complaints involving insurance for vehicles and property, ” he added.
When claiming motor insurance, Baskaran said one common issue faced by consumers was being denied their right to choose the workshop to repair their vehicles even though the workshop is registered under the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) and Road Transport Department.
Didik masyarakat hargai makanan
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06 Mei 2021
CYBERJAYA - Perbadanan Pengurusan Sisa Pepejal dan Pembersihan Awam (SWCorp) di bawah Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan (KPKT) meneruskan pelaksanaan Kempen Hargai Makanan, Elak Pembaziran pada tahun ini untuk terus mengurangkan pembaziran makanan di tapak pelupusan sampah.
Kempen yang masuk tahun keenam itu digerakkan bagi mengelakkan kesan pencemaran dan pemanasan global.
Timbalan Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan, Ismail Abd Muttalib berkata, lambakan sisa makanan di tapak pelupusan menyumbang kepada pencemaran alam sekitar serta pemanasan global akibat pembebasan gas metana yang terhasil daripada penguraian sisa makanan.
“Gas metana atau gas rumah hijau membawa kesan ke atas pemanasan bumi sebanyak 34 kali lebih bahaya berbanding gas karbon dioksida.
“Janaan sisa pepejal di Malaysia sehari ialah 38,120 tan dan daripada jumlah itu sebanyak 44.5 peratus ialah sisa makanan yang bersamaan dengan 17,000 tan sehari,” katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas melancarkan Kempen Hargai Makanan, Elak Pembaziran 2021 yang diadakan serentak dengan Perhimpunan Bulanan Penjawat Awam KPKT di SWCorp.
Ismail memberitahu, keseluruhan sisa makanan yang dibuang itu boleh memuatkan tujuh buah kolam renang Sukan Olimpik.
Consumer groups call on MyCC to probe e-commerce giant
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May 6, 2021 9:45 AM
PETALING JAYA: Two consumer groups have called on the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) to investigate e-commerce giant Shopee for allegedly offering RM3,000 in vouchers to sellers to close their stores on Lazada.
The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) said the allegation, if true, stifles competition, while the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) said the move is akin to using the vouchers as “bait” to attract sellers.
“If an e-commerce provider says ‘Just sell on my platform, don’t sell on others’, that’s not proper,” said Fomca’s chief executive officer, Saravanan Thambirajah.
“There has to be competition. When there is competition, consumers will gain. If someone is distorting the market, MyCC should take action.”
Saravanan also called on the sellers to report to MyCC if they felt they were being “disturbed” by e-commerce platforms.
Noting the numerous reports consumers have filed against the two e-commerce giants regarding fake products and scams on the platform, he said MyCC has been pushing the domestic trade and consumer affairs minister to take action against the sites.
“That’s also why they should definitely investigate this,” he said.
“The most important agency to investigate this is MyCC as this falls under their purview.”
Read more: Consumer groups call on MyCC to probe e-commerce giant
Honda Malaysia panggil balik 77,708 kereta
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KUALA LUMPUR: Honda Malaysia memanggil balik 77,708 unit kenderaan pelbagai model bagi tujuan penggantian pam bahan api, lanjutan daripada kempen sama yang dilaksanakan Jun tahun lalu.
Model Honda yang terbabit dengan kempen itu merangkumi kenderaan yang dipasang pada 2018 hingga 2020.
"Honda Malaysia memohon maaf di atas kesulitan yang dihadapi pelanggan terbabit. Kami telah memastikan semua jualan model semasa tidak terjejas dengan panggilan semula ini," katanya dalam satu kenyataan.
Model terbabit adalah Accord model 2018 dan 2019 masing-masing 512 dan 780 unit; BR-V model 2018 dan 2020 masing-masing 7,112 dan 6-unit; City model 2019 sebanyak 30,388 unit; City (HEV) model 2019 sebanyak 390 unit.
Selain itu, Civic model 2018 dan 2019 masing-masing 6,240 dan 2,776 unit; CR-V model 2019 dan 2020 masing-masing 9,843 dan 1,381 unit; HR-V model 2018 sebanyak 7,679 unit dan HR-V (HEV) model 2018 sebanyak 62 unit.
Turut terbabit ialah Jazz model 2019 dan 2020 sebanyak 5,791 dan 4,626 unit serta Jazz (HEV) model 2019 dan 2020 masing-masing 92 dan 30 unit.
Menurut Honda Malaysia, panggilan semula itu adalah langkah pencegahan untuk mengatasi kemungkinan terdapat kesukaran bagi menghidupkan enjin, kehilangan kuasa enjin atau kenderaan terhenti kerana pam minyak yang rosak.
Bagaimanapun, katanya, sehingga kini, tiada kemalangan atau kecederaan dilaporkan susulan isu berkenaan di Malaysia.
Falling for ‘high returns’ promise
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Sunday, 25 Apr 2021
PETALING JAYA: The challenging economic times brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic were among reasons why some investors fell for investment scams that promised high returns within a short time, says the Securities Commission (SC).
The industry regulator said this was coupled with the general public’s lack of understanding of the capital market, with many investors believing they could gain up to 31% returns if they joined the investment scams.
“We saw a significant jump in complaints about investment scams between 2019 and 2020 with victims across all ages and backgrounds because such scams were conducted via social media, ” it said.
It said complaints about such schemes climbed to 158% from 2019 to 2020, with most of them involving scams, unlicensed investment advice and unregistered digital asset platforms.
In 2019, the SC received 212 complaints but this number jumped to 548 in 2020. So far this year, it has received 215 complaints.
The SC believes scammers had taken advantage of people’s vulnerability to earn extra income during the pandemic.
Some of the scams even promised 10-fold returns on their investment within 24 hours of investing.
Awas! Jangan terpedaya scammer 'pancing data'
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April 24, 2021 16:31 MYT
KUALA LUMPUR: Kes-kes penipuan 'memancing data' perbankan internet dilihat semakin meningkat sejak kebelakangan ini.
Pelbagai taktik digunakan termasuk menerusi panggilan telefon, menghantar khidmat pesanan ringkas (SMS) secara rambang menyerupai pesanan bank dan juga kiriman emel bagi memperdaya pengguna supaya menyerahkan maklumat peribadi seperti nama dan kata laluan akaun perbankan Internet.
Baru-baru ini Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM) mendedahkan beberapa helah dan modus operandi yang digunakan scammer itu.
Modus operandi itu turut digunakan untuk memperdaya dan memperoleh nombor Transaction Authorization Code (TAC) atau One-Time PIN (OTP) daripada pengguna.
Berikut modus operandi yang dikesan digunakan scammer:
1. Pesanan ringkas SMS atau mana-mana aplikasi pesanan termasuk WhatsApp dihantar menyatakan berlakunya transaksi kewangan mencurigakan atau wujud keperluan untuk pengguna mengesahkan, mengemas kini atau mengaktifkan semula akaun perbankan Internet.
2. Pengguna diminta untuk melayari pautan laman sesawang palsu yang diberikan dan kemudian memasukkan nama dan kata laluan akaun perbankan Internet.
Why chicken prices are no longer finger-licking good
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April 24, 2021 9:00 AM
PETALING JAYA: The rise in chicken prices since the start of Ramadan has ruffled the feathers of many consumers, forcing the authorities to intervene.
Chicken is the most widely consumed meat in the country, with the typical Malaysian eating an average of 50.9kg of poultry a year. Any rise in prices is therefore always an issue.
It was reported recently that the price of chicken had rocketed from RM7.50 per kg to between RM9 and RM10 per kg.
FMT takes a look at the factors affecting poultry prices and explores what can be done to address the issue.
According to a poultry farmer who declined to be named, the main factor affecting chicken prices is the cost of production.
The main ingredients in chicken feed are corn, soya bean meal, and crude palm oil (CPO). The prices of these have been going up.
In recent months, the farmer said, the prices of imported corn had increased by 41.5%, imported soya bean meal by 57.6% and CPO by 43.3%.
“People often ask why we don’t feed chickens with cheaper food like palm kernel cakes. It boils down to nutrition as corn and soya bean meal offer the best nutrition.
“Lower quality feed affects the growth of the chickens. This means it will take longer for the chicken to reach a size and weight suitable for sale.”
Read more: Why chicken prices are no longer finger-licking good
Scammers cash in on opportunity
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Wednesday, 21 Apr 2021
KUALA LUMPUR: Even as the country has been hit hard by Covid-19, scammers have taken advantage of the pandemic to prey on the weak and gullible.
Macau scam cases are on the rise with losses amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit yearly.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob (pic) said 5,725 cases were reported in 2019 involving RM254.5mil in losses.
“The cases continued to spike to 6,003 cases last year. The total losses increased to RM287.3mil.
“So far, we received 1,392 cases this year with losses amounting to RM38.1mil, ” he said when contacted yesterday.
The victims were mostly women aged 51 and above, Comm Zainuddin said.
“The syndicates would prey on such victims, using fear as the ultimate tool in duping them to surrender their savings.
“The scammers would pose as officers from the authorities, including the police or Bank Negara.
“Some would even pretend to be from a bank or other companies such as Pos Malaysia. We also received cases where the scammers posed as the victim’s family members or friends, ” he added.
The modus operandi has not changed much as the scammers will say that you are under investigation for some case.
“They will intimidate you and threaten to put you behind bars.
“The police will never handle cases over the phone, let alone threaten to arrest someone, ” he said.
Comm Zainuddin said a scammer would also advise the victim to transfer their money to avoid it from being frozen during a phone call.
EPF: Members will continue to earn dividends up to age 100
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Tuesday, 20 Apr 2021 1:43 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has clarified that members will continue to earn dividends for the remaining portion of their EPF savings up to age 100.
In a statement, EPF has clarified that an old statement regarding the maximum age of 75 years for EPF dividend payment, which is currently circulating via WhatsApp and other online platforms, is outdated and no longer applicable.
“As announced in an EPF media statement dated Nov 3, 2016, effective Jan 1, 2017, members will continue to earn dividends for the remaining portion of their EPF savings up to age 100,” it said.
“This measure was introduced following the amendment to the EPF Act 1991 to ensure that members who choose to maintain a portion of their savings with the EPF after retirement will continue to benefit from the compounding effect of annual dividends until their EPF savings have been fully withdrawn,” EPF said.
The EPF will inform members prior to transferring any unclaimed savings when the member reaches age 100.
Any claim after the transfer can be made through the Registrar of Unclaimed Monies.
The EPF urged members to be cautious of misleading or unsubstantiated information received through social media platforms and refrain from circulating them.
Members are advised to always verify the source and date of the information obtained.
Source:
Scammers hunting for victims on social media
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Wednesday, 21 Apr 2021
GEORGE TOWN: After countless successful raids against Macau scam syndicates, fraudsters have started adopting new modus operandi to get people to part with their money.
Penang Commercial Crime chief Asst Comm Mohd Rosni Mohd Lazim said scammers would now swindle their victims via social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp or WeChat, instead of the traditional face-to-face approach.
He said the situation was further aggravated as more people were now using online transactions.
“In the past, we had the pyramid investment schemes where victims attend briefings before parting with their money, or the ‘scratch and win’ contests where the victims were approached on the streets.
“Today, the victims would fall prey to financial scam advertisements on social media, ” he said.
ACP Rosni said police have recorded 342 cases in Penang in 2019 and 2020, with losses amounting to RM17mil.
“Till March this year, Penang has recorded another 37 cases related to the Macau scam, with losses amounting to RM699,937.
“The amount of losses from the Macau scam is among the highest compared to other commercial crimes involving individuals, ” he said.
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