Cost of Living Action Council proposal to be tabled

KUALA LUMPUR: The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) will take the proposal on the establishment of the National Cost of Living Action Council to the Cabinet next week.

Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said, right now, the ministry was in the midst of shortlisting industry players, experts and professionals to be included as members in the council to ensure every decision made in facing the challenges of the rising cost of living could be implemented for long-term goals.

“There will be five clusters in the council and we will have experts in each cluster because we need people who really understand (the policy) so that once we announce it, there will be no flip-flop,” he told reporters after launching Tesco’s Magic of Ong 2018 campaign at Kepong Tesco hypermarket here yesterday.

The five clusters are housing, transport, utility, food and beverages.

Last December, Hamzah was reported as saying that the government had agreed with the proposal to establish the National Cost of Living Council to address issues involving the rising cost of living. The proposal was brought forth by Umno Youth Information chief Jamawi Jaafar during the 2017 Umno general assembly in early December.

Meanwhile, Hamzah said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was scheduled to officially launch the ‘Price Catcher’ application early next month.

The application, which was introduced last October, was aimed at helping consumers to compare prices of items available in hypermarkets nationwide.